Debit cards are great, they are extremely convenient, way better than
a check, and they do not have the hassle that can come with a credit
card. I love mine. I can not stress that enough, I use it all the time,
and I would prefer to use the funds in my bank than to charge on my
credit card, even if I plan to pay it off before it incurs any finance
charges. Debit cards are just easy. As are my favorites super heros wise
uncle said, “With great power comes great responsibility”. With the
great ease of debit cards comes some pretty great risks.
I can see you all out there now rolling your eyes at me, thinking this is where I use my card the most! Ok well hang on for one second, card skimming is becoming more and more common, and it can be very hard to spot. No I am not saying all ATM’s are basically handing your debit card over to thieves, you just have to use a bit more street smarts when choosing which ones to use. ATM’s in open public spaces are the ones that are targeted most often. Any ATM that is in a public space is the easiest types to install a skimming device, they are high traffic, and most people will not notice if someone appears to be “working” on it. You are much better off going to one that is in your bank, or inside a retail outlet, anyplace that is well lit, and likely to have cameras pointed at it, in addition to the one that is in the ATM itself.
Gas stations are another easy target. They are easy for thieves because many of them are not open all night long, they are out in the open, and this allows them to install a skimming device in time for the morning rush. They can install the device and sit near with a laptop and a wifi or Blue Tooth connection and collect your person information.
The Internet
The web is a big scary place, a place where thieves are around every corner, and princes in far off lands want to give us all there money. And speaking of that, as soon as my 1.5 million dollar check comes in from my dead relative in Nigeria I will not be writing this blog anymore…. Ok in reality the web is a very safe place to shop, it is getting better and better all the time. So why not use our debit cards online? It comes back to the protection differences offered by your credit card company vs your debit card issuer. You are protected against fraud on your credit card past $50 dollars. So you may be responsible for up to $50 dollars but no more. With your debit card you have the same protection for 2 days. If you report it within 2 days you will only have to pay up to $50 dollars. After that it goes up, and quickly. Many are $500 dollars after 2 days, and then after 60 days you may be responsible for the full amount. So even though it can be a pain to use your credit card for purchases online, as you will just have to then pay it off adding a separate step to the online order, it can be worth the extra bit of effort.
Your favorite take out place.
Hey I am guilty of ordering out more than I should, and I am also a creature of habit so that leads to me ordering from many of the same spots over and over again. And many of the smaller local places or even medium sized business will allow you to create an account in which you can store you payment information. This is great, so easy to place an order and food shows up 30 minutes later. So whats the risk of paying with my debit card? It has to do again with the protection that is offered from your credit card vs your debit issuer. If these systems that hold your information are ever compromised you will now have your debit card out there which as we have learned could leave you responsible for any charges that occur.
These smaller shops are a bit of a catch 22, many of them have smaller databases of only a few thousand names, and payment information. This makes them not such a great target for would be thieves, they like to strike where they can get massive amounts of names and payment information. Then on the other hand most of these systems are not that well protected so they make an easy target, so the risk is there for sure.
So this is where the bad news on credit monitoring comes in, being enrolled in a credit monitoring services is my number one advice, it just is worth it for so many reasons… What it can not do is to protect your bank account from unauthorized transactions from cases like I listed above. What it can is to keep your protected in the event that your credit card information was ever stolen of skimmed and they tried to use that information to open up new accounts in your name. It really is the best way to keep your identity safe, and with the combination of using your credit cards at risky places, having your credit monitoring service in place you can rest pretty soundly at night!
Get more information about credit monitoring, credit monitoring service, credit score monitoring, credit reports Please CLICK HERE
Using your debit card can put you at risk, even with credit monitoring.
Debit cards look just like your credit card, they are accepted almost anywhere, but that’s about all they share in common. Debit cards take the money directly from your bank, credit cards charge the card and the money is not taken until you pay your bill. If you were to find fraud on your credit card you could just report it and refuse to pay it. A debit card the money is already gone. With that difference it can become a major pain to get reimbursed from your bank. In a major breach of TJ Maxx data center, there was 150 million of fraud charges. Those who paid with a credit card had a new card issued within a few days and were back to normal. Some who paid with a debit card took over 3 months to be reimbursed and the issue taken care of.Places to be cautious of using your debit card.
ATM MachinesI can see you all out there now rolling your eyes at me, thinking this is where I use my card the most! Ok well hang on for one second, card skimming is becoming more and more common, and it can be very hard to spot. No I am not saying all ATM’s are basically handing your debit card over to thieves, you just have to use a bit more street smarts when choosing which ones to use. ATM’s in open public spaces are the ones that are targeted most often. Any ATM that is in a public space is the easiest types to install a skimming device, they are high traffic, and most people will not notice if someone appears to be “working” on it. You are much better off going to one that is in your bank, or inside a retail outlet, anyplace that is well lit, and likely to have cameras pointed at it, in addition to the one that is in the ATM itself.
Gas stations are another easy target. They are easy for thieves because many of them are not open all night long, they are out in the open, and this allows them to install a skimming device in time for the morning rush. They can install the device and sit near with a laptop and a wifi or Blue Tooth connection and collect your person information.
The Internet
The web is a big scary place, a place where thieves are around every corner, and princes in far off lands want to give us all there money. And speaking of that, as soon as my 1.5 million dollar check comes in from my dead relative in Nigeria I will not be writing this blog anymore…. Ok in reality the web is a very safe place to shop, it is getting better and better all the time. So why not use our debit cards online? It comes back to the protection differences offered by your credit card company vs your debit card issuer. You are protected against fraud on your credit card past $50 dollars. So you may be responsible for up to $50 dollars but no more. With your debit card you have the same protection for 2 days. If you report it within 2 days you will only have to pay up to $50 dollars. After that it goes up, and quickly. Many are $500 dollars after 2 days, and then after 60 days you may be responsible for the full amount. So even though it can be a pain to use your credit card for purchases online, as you will just have to then pay it off adding a separate step to the online order, it can be worth the extra bit of effort.
Your favorite take out place.
Hey I am guilty of ordering out more than I should, and I am also a creature of habit so that leads to me ordering from many of the same spots over and over again. And many of the smaller local places or even medium sized business will allow you to create an account in which you can store you payment information. This is great, so easy to place an order and food shows up 30 minutes later. So whats the risk of paying with my debit card? It has to do again with the protection that is offered from your credit card vs your debit issuer. If these systems that hold your information are ever compromised you will now have your debit card out there which as we have learned could leave you responsible for any charges that occur.
These smaller shops are a bit of a catch 22, many of them have smaller databases of only a few thousand names, and payment information. This makes them not such a great target for would be thieves, they like to strike where they can get massive amounts of names and payment information. Then on the other hand most of these systems are not that well protected so they make an easy target, so the risk is there for sure.
So this is where the bad news on credit monitoring comes in, being enrolled in a credit monitoring services is my number one advice, it just is worth it for so many reasons… What it can not do is to protect your bank account from unauthorized transactions from cases like I listed above. What it can is to keep your protected in the event that your credit card information was ever stolen of skimmed and they tried to use that information to open up new accounts in your name. It really is the best way to keep your identity safe, and with the combination of using your credit cards at risky places, having your credit monitoring service in place you can rest pretty soundly at night!
Get more information about credit monitoring, credit monitoring service, credit score monitoring, credit reports Please CLICK HERE
