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What Is This Charge on My Credit Card?

6 min read

Last Updated: August 26, 2025

Table of contents

Key Takeaways

Regularly review your credit card statement to identify any unknown or suspicious charges.
If you suspect a fraudulent charge, report it to your credit card company as soon as possible.
Fraudulent charges may impact your credit score if they go unnoticed and unresolved.

Surprised by a charge you don’t recognize on your credit card statement? Maybe the retailer’s name is unfamiliar, or you don’t remember going shopping that day. Could it be a sign of credit card fraud?

A credit card transaction you can’t identify may have many explanations, from a retailer changing its name to a thief accessing your account. Fortunately, a few actions may help you solve the mystery and protect yourself from fraud.

Reviewing your credit card statement

Your credit card statement provides a detailed summary of your credit card use throughout a billing cycle. Reviewing your credit card statement every month is a good way to track your purchases and identify any unknown charges quickly.

Pay close attention to the section of your statement labeled “transactions.” This list details each credit card payment and purchase you’ve made during the last billing cycle.

Each transaction typically includes a transaction date (when the purchase was made), a post date (the date money is added to your balance), the merchant’s name, and the total amount of the purchase.

What are pending charges?

A pending charge is one that has yet to post to your credit card account balance. You might think of a pending charge as a hold. You hold on to a certain amount of credit on your credit card until the transaction goes through.

You may notice your available funds going down right after you use your card, even if it hasn’t posted to your account yet. A pending charge affects your available credit, since the amount is held until a credit card charge goes through.

To understand how holds might work, consider how hotels use them. Sometimes, a hotel may place a hold on your credit card account when you check in, on top of your room rate. Hotels do this to ensure that you have enough available credit on your card to cover any incidental expenses, like room service. At the end of your stay, the hotel may charge your card or release the hold. But in the meantime, that amount brings down your available credit.

What if there's an unrecognized charge?

If you find an unknown charge in your list of transactions, you may take a few steps to determine if it’s an authorized charge that you forgot about, a billing error, or an unauthorized charge that requires further action.

You may also receive an alert from your credit card issuer for a suspicious transaction.

If you hold onto your receipts, review the ones you received on the date of the unknown transaction to see if you can find the purchase.

You might also check the receipts you receive via email. You may have your card listed as a new payment method for a subscription service or bill and have automatic payments activated.

Charges don’t always appear under the same names that businesses operate under. You may be able to track down a charge by searching online for the merchant’s name, exactly as it appears on your credit card statement. This may help if the company abbreviates its name or processes transactions through a parent company or third party.

If a joint account holder or an authorized user has access to your credit card account, check with them to see if they recognize the charge before taking any additional steps.

Contact the merchant and see if you can work together to resolve the issue. A simple billing error, like a double charge for coffee, may explain a mysterious charge.

If you still can’t figure out what the charge is for after you’ve taken these steps, it might point to credit card fraud. The next step is contacting your card issuer, bank, or other financial institution.

Report a fraudulent charge

If you suspect a fraudulent charge, it’s important to act quickly. To start, alert your credit card issuer as soon as possible using the customer service number on the back of your card or through the card issuer’s website. Tell the customer service representative that you suspect fraud and would like to dispute an unauthorized purchase.

Each credit card issuer may have a slightly different dispute process. Typically, you provide information about the charge, like the merchant, amount, and date. The financial institution then conducts an investigation into your claim. In the meantime, they may freeze your account to prevent additional unauthorized purchases or send you a new card and account number.

You don’t have to cover the disputed charge during the investigation, but you have to pay the remainder of your credit card bill.

Under the Fair Credit Billing Act, the most you may have to pay for an unauthorized purchase is $50, as long as you report fraudulent charges within 60 days of receiving your credit card statement.

Did you know?

With Discover, you get $0 Fraud Liability Guarantee. You’re never responsible for unauthorized purchases on your Discover Card account.¹

Learn More

How fraudulent charges can impact your credit score

While federal laws are in place to protect consumers, fraudulent charges may impact your financial health if they go unresolved.

If you have a credit card that you only use for emergencies and you rarely check your statements, there’s a chance an unauthorized charge may go unnoticed for months and accrue interest. Fraudulent charges you’re not aware of may impact your credit score until they’re resolved by increasing your credit utilization ratio (your total amount of outstanding credit card debt compared to your overall available credit).

If you don’t know that a transaction has left you with a credit card balance, you might miss a credit card payment. Failure to make an on-time payment may result in a late fee or other penalties on your credit card account. A missed payment also typically appears on your credit report, impacting your credit score. Fortunately, if the transaction is found fraudulent, your credit card company will notify the credit bureaus, which should correct any issues on your credit report.

To protect your credit score, review your credit card statements regularly and take immediate action if you see a charge that doesn’t look right.

The bottom line

If you find a credit card charge that you don’t think you made, it’s important to follow up quickly. In some cases, you may track down the charge with a little research or work it out with the merchant. But an unfamiliar purchase may also point to credit card fraud. While a strange charge on your credit card statement may be concerning, you may resolve it quickly by jumping into action.

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