If your credit card is lost or stolen, you can't lose more than $50. If someone uses your ATM or debit card without your permission, you can lose much more:

• If you report to the card issuer that your ATM or debit card is missing before it is used without your permission, you are not responsible for any unauthorized withdrawals.
• The amount you can be held responsible for depends upon how quickly you report the loss to the card issuer and if your card has been used.
• If you report the loss within two business days after you realize your card is missing, you will not be responsible for more than $50 of unauthorized use.
• If you don't report the loss within two business days after you realize the card is missing, but within 60 days after your statement is mailed to you, you could lose as much as $500 because of an unauthorized transfer.
• If you don't report an unauthorized transfer within 60 days after your statement is mailed to you, you risk unlimited loss. You could lose all the money in your account and the unused portion of your maximum line of credit established for overdrafts.

If you failed to notify the institution within the time periods allowed because of an extenuating circumstance, such as lengthy travel or illness, the issuer must extend the notification period. In addition, if state law or your contract imposes lower liability limits, those lower limits apply rather than the limits in the federal EFT Act.

Once you report the loss or theft of your ATM or debit card, you are no longer responsible for additional unauthorized transfers occurring after that time. Unauthorized transfers may continue to appear on your statements, so carefully review each statement you receive after you've reported the loss or theft and report each error quickly.