Credit Card Charged for One Dollar: Is this Identity Theft

Your credit card was charged one dollar and now you wonder if this is identity theft.  This is a good type of “wonder” as you most likely didn’t charge anything that was worth $1.00.

The answer to: Credit Card Charged for One Dollar: Is this Identity Theft?

Before you contact your credit card company or your banking institution you might want to know that this maybe a normal charge.  A 1 dollar charge on your credit or debit card often means you were at the gas station pumping gas and not handing over a dollar at a time to identity thieves.

Many gasoline stations like Shell, BP, Mobil, and others charge $1.00 onto your card until the full charge processes a few days later.  If it is a weekend or a holiday your full fuel purchase may show up several days later.  In my opinion gas stations do this to make sure that your credit card or debit card has the necessary credit or funds.  So next time you freak out over a one dollar charge on your account remember it is temporary and it will be fully replaced with your fuel purchase.  Just in case you wanted to know you won’t be paying a dollar extra for your fuel purchase, only what you paid for at the pump.

There have been identity theft cases where thieves would charge small amounts onto a credit card and then use larger transactions to fill up their pockets.  If after 5 to 7 business days your one dollar charge doesn’t turn into a $60 gas purchase, you either bought something for a dollar on credit or you are getting scammed.  If you have kids at home, or other persons who may be using your card, ask them if they charged anything on it before you start your own identity protection investigation.  Kids in particular, may be the culprits charging your credit one dollar at a time.