It happens to people every day.
They open up their credit card statement and see a few charges that don't ring a bell.
They may think about it for a while, wondering if they may have paid for something that they don't remember.
If this describes you, you may be dealing with bogus charges on your credit card that need to be dealt with right away.
The first thing you should do is call your credit card company.
The best credit cards have customer service specialists that know just how to deal with this kind of a call.
They will help you sort through the charges that you are not sure about and try to find you more information about the charge.
Sometimes, it's a simple mistake.
It could be that you purchased something from a company that you thought had one name, but their mother company really had a different name and that is where the credit card was run, putting an unfamiliar payee on your credit card statement.
If you're still not sure, the credit card company should work to pull out more information from the original transaction.
Usually this will include a phone number so you can call the person who put the charge through and ask them for details of the transaction.
While all of this is being done, many of the best credit cards will lock down your account.
This is a precautionary measure to keep any more bogus charges from going through on your account until the problem can be sorted out.
If you do come to find that your account has in fact been compromised, it's time to cut your ties to that card.
The credit card company will take care of the process of closing that account for you and transferring your information to a new account.
This means you will have to wait for a new card to arrive in the mail before you will be able to charge anything new.
It also means that any crooks with your information can't use it either.
Next, talk to your credit card company about how to get restitution for the charges that were made on your account.
Many of the best credit cards have a program in place where they will refund your money if you report the problem in a timely manner.
Finally, you need to work to prevent this type of thing from happening again.
The best way to do this is to keep a closer eye on your credit card.
Most credit card companies will allow you to use your home computer to keep tabs of what is happening on your account.