CARD SECURITY FAQ
 

A: Preauthorization is a practice that allows a merchant to verify that a card is valid and that a specified amount of funds are available on your account. Preauthorized amounts are typically held on your account until the actual transactions are processed. Gas stations commonly preauthorized funds from your credit/debit card account prior to the actual charge being placed.

Preauthorizations fall off of an account within 3 – 7 business days.

Preauthorizations cannot be disputed.

A: At PenFed, your security is our priority. We use a fraud detection system that predicts the possibility of fraud on credit card accounts based on current fraud trends and the cardholder’s spending habits. This helps us detect fraud at its earliest stage by identifying unusual patterns in spending. When unusual spending patterns are detected, a freeze is placed on your account until we can confirm that the transactions were done by you. In addition to unusual spending patterns, there could be other reasons your card account may be frozen, such as delinquency or other matters.

If your account is frozen, contact us at 800-247-5626 so that we can determine the reason for the freeze and obtain the resources necessary to release your account.