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What to do if…
your credit card statement shows a cash advance you did not make

Produced and maintained by PanicStation.org Published: Last reviewed: Editorial policy USA guide

Short answer

Contact your credit card issuer using the number on the back of your card or in the official app, report the cash advance as unauthorized, and ask them to stop further cash advances while they open a fraud or billing-error case.

Do not do these things

  • Don’t call a number from a text, email, search ad, pop-up, or voicemail; use the number on the card, statement, or official app.
  • Don’t share your PIN, one-time passcodes, password, or verification codes with anyone who contacts you.
  • Don’t wait for the next statement before reporting it.
  • Don’t mail original documents; send copies only.
  • Don’t pay the disputed cash advance just because it is on the statement before checking the billing-error dispute process.
  • Don’t skip payment on the parts of the bill you do not dispute.

What to do now

  1. Call your issuer and say: “I did not make this cash advance.”
    Ask them to:

    • Cancel or replace the card.
    • Block or lower the cash-advance limit, if they can.
    • Open a fraud or billing-error case.
    • Give you the case number.
    • Tell you the date, time, amount, ATM or merchant location, and reference details they can see.
    • Tell you whether they need a form, written statement, affidavit, or police report.

  2. Send a written billing-error dispute.
    Use the issuer’s billing inquiries address from your statement or online account, not the payment address. If you cannot find it, ask the issuer where written billing-error notices must be sent. Include:

    • Your name and account number, or the last 4 digits.
    • The cash advance amount and date.
    • A clear statement: “I did not authorize this cash advance.”
    • A request for the issuer to investigate and correct the account. Send it so the issuer receives it within 60 days after the first statement showing the cash advance was sent to you. Keep a copy and proof that you sent it.

  3. Handle the bill carefully while the dispute is open.
    After you send the written billing-error dispute, you can withhold the disputed cash advance and related finance charges while the issuer investigates. Keep paying any undisputed part of the bill.

  4. Lock down the card account.

    • Change your online password from a trusted device.
    • Turn on transaction alerts for purchases, cash advances, balance transfers, address changes, phone changes, and password changes.
    • Check whether any unfamiliar phone number, email address, mailing address, device, authorized user, digital wallet, or autopay account has been added.
    • Remove anything unfamiliar and tell the issuer.

  5. Save the evidence you already have.

    • Screenshot or download the statement line.
    • Note the ATM or merchant location, reference number, amount, fee, and posted date.
    • Write down when you called, who you spoke with, and the case number.
    • Save any suspicious texts, emails, or voicemails without clicking their links.

  6. If this may be identity theft, use official identity theft routes.

    • Go to IdentityTheft.gov to make a report and recovery plan.
    • Place a fraud alert by contacting one of the three nationwide credit bureaus; that bureau should tell the other two.
    • Place a credit freeze by contacting each of the three nationwide credit bureaus.

  7. File a police report if the issuer asks for one or if the ATM detail clearly points to theft.
    Keep the report number and give only a copy to the issuer.

What can wait

  • You do not need to prove how the cash advance happened before reporting it.
  • You do not need to contact the ATM owner yourself unless your issuer asks you to.
  • You do not need to decide today about paid credit monitoring.
  • You do not need to close every financial account at once; focus first on stopping further cash advances and getting the dispute recorded.

Important reassurance

A cash advance you did not make is alarming, but you do not have to solve the whole fraud question immediately. The useful first steps are to report it through a trusted channel, block further cash access if possible, send the written dispute, and keep a simple record of what happened.

Scope note

These are first steps only. Later decisions, including appeals, complaints, police reports, identity theft recovery, or legal options, may need specialist help.

Important note

This is general information, not legal, financial, or professional advice. Follow your issuer’s instructions, keep copies of everything, and stop the conversation if anyone pressures you to share codes, reveal your PIN, or move money to keep it safe.

Additional Resources

Closely connected guides that may be useful during the same situation or its immediate aftermath.

About this guide

This guide was produced and is maintained by PanicStation.org using its published editorial process. Official and specialist sources are checked where relevant, and AI-assisted tools may be used for drafting, organisation, and consistency checks. The site operator remains responsible for publication, revision, and removal decisions.

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