Lost, Stolen, or Compromised Card — What Should You Do?

Card security incidents move fast — and the right next step depends on whether the card is missing, stolen, or possibly compromised (details leaked, odd charges, merchant breach, and so on).

This post is a practical playbook for employees and admins, and a place to share what works in real life. Official how-tos live in Help Center; use the comments to compare processes across teams.

First: pick the scenario

• Lost or stolen physical card — you no longer have the plastic (or someone else might).
• Suspected compromise — you still have the card, but details may be exposed or you see unrecognized activity.
• Virtual card risk — usually online, subscription, or vendor exposure; often faster to replace than a physical card.

Employee playbook (lost or stolen)

1. Lock the card immediately in the Custodia mobile app or web portal → Cards → select the card → Lock Card. Locking stops further purchases right away.
2. Contact Custodia Support at support@custodia.ai. Tell them:
   • the card is lost or stolen,
   • you already locked it,
   • any suspicious activity you noticed,
   • that you need a replacement.
3. Tell your finance or admin team if you suspect fraud so they can watch related budgets and transactions.
4. Activate the replacement when it arrives — follow the instructions in the shipment. If you later find the old card, do not reuse it.

Tip: Many users still have virtual card access in Custodia while waiting for a physical replacement — useful for time-sensitive online spend.

If the card may be compromised (not necessarily missing)

• Review recent transactions and flag anything you don’t recognize.
• Lock the card when fraud is confirmed or strongly suspected — especially for virtual cards, which are typically quick to reissue.
• Update recurring merchants after a replacement (subscriptions, ads platforms, vendors) so billing doesn’t keep failing on the old credentials.
• For physical cards with no clear fraud yet, coordinate with Support or your admin before locking if disruption would be severe — but never delay if charges look wrong.

Physical vs virtual — why the response differs

In Custodia, physical and virtual cards are different instruments on the same user account and activity rules — not separate wallets. That means:

• Virtual replacements are usually faster and great for isolating a risky vendor or subscription.
• Physical replacements involve shipping and activation, so locking plus temporary virtual spend is often the bridge.
• Locking one card type doesn’t automatically remove every other card on the account — check what else is still active.

Official guides

• Lost Custodia Card – What to Do?
• Managing Compromised Cards
• Physical Cards vs. Virtual Cards

Discuss with the community

Reply below with your experience — the more specific, the more useful for the next person:

• What’s your team’s first 5 minutes checklist when an employee reports a lost card?
• Do you default to locking immediately, or only after confirming fraud?
• How do you handle subscriptions / recurring charges after a replacement?
• Any gotchas when someone still needs to spend while waiting for a physical card?
• What wording works best when you message an employee about a suspected compromise?

Have a related tip or process? Drop it in the comments — we’ll fold the best practices into future digests.