Done using Credit/Debit Cards

[Mojo88]

I have been part of the several credit fraud events: Home Depot, Target, Anthem Blue Cross and the Ohio E-Z Pass employee theft of card numbers just to name a few.

I have had to replace cards and cancel accounts, but nothing was stolen. That was until last week, I had my debit card skimmed at a gas station that I always use. They cloned my card and went to Walmart and took 300.00 out of our account.

Fraud caught them and my account was flagged and shut down. Now I have to fill out an affidavit, get it notarized and mail it in. I told my wife that this is it. I will go to the bank and take out enough money to last the week. I am not going to use a credit card and have it happen. Although it may be an inconvenience to go to the bank, it will be less hassle than the constant replacement of cards and frozen accounts.

 

[njpaddy]

I always prefer cash to card and never charge at gas stations. I rarely even carry a card unless I know I'm going someplace I need it. I had a card skimmed while in still my wallet a couple years ago. My credit card company froze it after the 1st unauthorized use and before I even knew there was a problem. I now have an anti-skimming wallet.

 

[BigFoot]

Do you live in a big city? Our problems with this have gone way up since moving to Dallas.

 

[Mojo88]

Do you live in a big city? Our problems with this have gone way up since moving to Dallas.

We live in a small town and the station where they installed the skimmer is even smaller. When I spoke with the rep from the bank he said that 60% of his calls per day are fraud related. Between shrink and fraud it's no wonder retailers are forced to raise prices.

 

[dpm802]

I find the convenience of credit/debit cards greatly outweighs the potential loss.

Carrying cash has its own drawbacks, and if you lose it or get robbed, it can't be replaced. And there are few things that I buy, except for Lottery Tickets and drinks at a bar, that need to be done strictly in cash.

With debit cards, you get an electronic record of every cent you spend. Much easier to track things down if you need to go back a few weeks and find out when and for how much you purchased a particular item. Keeping those same records manually on paper would be a nightmare for me.

My debit card is linked to my checking account, and that has overdraft protection so that if the balance drops below zero, it will draw funds from other reserve and savings accounts to make up the difference.

It has come in handy a few times, when I've forgotten exactly how much I have in that account.

In a perfect world, I would keep a minimum of funds in that checking account, and un-link them from other accounts. So if I do get hit by an unauthorized withdrawal, it can't reach the balances in my larger accounts.

Even so, I am protected against fraudulent transactions. But I don't look forward to all the hassle and paperwork that I'd need to go through to take advantage of that protection.

 

[ackvil]

The convenience of credit cards outweigh any of the disadvantages for me. I have a number of credit cards all of which have points which I use. One thing I do, however, is to use Quicken to download transactions every day. If I find anything out of the ordinary I immediately investigate. I also get text alerts for any charge over $250 and have received calls when I have made larger purchases or if two transactions are out of my normal area.

We have only had one issue with a credit card and it was for a Macy's card that my wife had. While she was at a spa in Fort Lauderdale someone broke into the locker she was using and stole her wallet. I immediately called all of the banks (we have the same credit cards and I have all of the numbers recorded on my cell phone) and Macy's within the hour. My wife never signs the back of her cards so merchants should ask for identification. A clerk at Toys'R'Us did not ask for any ID and although my wife's driver's license was also stolen the female who used the cards was a different race, had different hair color and eye color and when the store manager saw the surveillance tape of the transaction admitted that the clerk was wrong.

The individual went to Macy's and bought $500 of gift cards and a diamond necklace of $1,000. Macy's despite being contacted attempted to collect on this "debt" and my wife got dunning telephone calls from their credit department for a month. I eventually wrote a letter to the General Counsel of Macy's (I am a retired attorney and personally knew this individual's predecessor and advised him that he better instruct the credit department on the law if he wanted to avoid a lawsuit. The case promptly closed.

 

[mike_the_kraken]

Just for the sake of argument, wouldn't the OP's crisis have been averted if they'd walked inside and paid? And, if you have to walk inside and pay - does it matter whether it's cash or cc/debit?

Card scanners target pay-at-the-pump, portable ATMs, redbox rentals etc. Basically external card payment points that do not require human interaction. You can keep the card, just pay a human. Won't fix every problem, but it'll beat card scanners.

Besides, without a credit/debit card - how will you buy all those non-local shaving supplies like Mike's, Soap Commander, and CRSW?!

 

[dpm802]

Just for the sake of argument, wouldn't the OP's crisis have been averted if they'd walked inside and paid with cc/debit card? And, if you have to walk inside and pay - does it matter whether it's cash or cc/debit?

Card scanners target pay-at-the-pump, portable ATMs, redbox rentals etc. Basically external card payment points that do not require human interaction. You can keep the card, just pay a human.

Many of the major retail chains that got hacked last year were cases where account numbers were stolen by tapping into the corporations' computer system, through an internal security flaw. In this case, it wouldn't matter where the actual Point-of-Sale is.

Card skimmers are like fishing with a single rod and line. Tapping into corporate computers are like casting a large trawler net. It requires much less effort for a much bigger payoff.

 

[BSAGuy]

Sounds like a major PITA, Mojo. Sorry for your bad experiences. Cash is definitely king, but credit and debit cards are certainly more convenient.

 

[Kit Walker]

We generally gas up at CostCo. I've noticed that the pumps all have seals on the access panels to prevent skimmers being attached.

 

[mike_the_kraken]

Many of the major retail chains that got hacked last year were cases where account numbers were stolen by tapping into the corporations' computer system, through an internal security flaw. In this case, it wouldn't matter where the actual Point-of-Sale is.

Card skimmers are like fishing with a single rod and line. Tapping into corporate computers are like casting a large trawler net. It requires much less effort for a much bigger payoff.

That isn't the same issue the OP faced is it? I didn't read that he had his number stolen via computer trawl, he had it skimmed at an external payment station. If you're going down that path - one could argue that paying in cash still doesn't protect you from identity theft.

The point was that there are simple ways to lower the risk of card skimming.

 

[opsimath]

I use my VISA credit card for almost all my daily transactions. I pay my bill in full every month, so I don't incur interest charges. The federal government has some very strict consumer protection laws that apply to all credit cards, but NOT debit cards.

You will have more protection if you use a credit card than if you pay for something with your debit card. Most credit cards offer 100% protection from fraud or theft. If you’re the victim of identity theft or credit card fraud, you won’t be liable for the fraudulent charges -- not so with a debit card. If your card is hacked or stolen (or even lost) and you never even report it, you are still only liable for the first $50 -- after that, it's the bank's legal headache -- not yours.

The obvious downside is that if, as many/most people do, you make only the minimum monthly payment, your balance will continue to grow, and you will end up paying the issuing bank a lot of interest. That is why I pay my entire balance off everytime I get a bill -- no interest charges, but full fraud protection.

 

[hydro-magic]

I never use debit card since that money comes right out of your bank account. Credit cards offer more protection in case of fraud I think so I use them. Had my share of people steal my number but it's never ended up costing me anything or caused me all that much trouble even. Just pay those things off every month 'cause the interest will make you poor.

I'm actually pretty excited about some of the new mobile phone payment methods coming along. Those don't even give your card number to the merchant. Just a one time use token that's useless if they tried to use it again. They also usually require you to use your fingerprint to authorize so the fraud potential goes way down.

 

[global_dev]

Doesn't the eventual move from magnetic to chip alleviate/mitigate some of the risk and actually transfer responsibility to the commercial entities involved if they don't move to chip? (US based comment)

 

[hydro-magic]

Doesn't the eventual move from magnetic to chip alleviate/mitigate some of the risk and actually transfer responsibility to the commercial entities involved if they don't move to chip? (US based comment)

I hadn't really checked in to the chip cards but looks like they also give a one-time use code to the merchant. The only place that is using the chip cards near me seems to be Target which makes sense since they were involved in a pretty high profile hacking case not long ago. I'm seeing more of the chip card readers but most of them don't work yet and they're still requiring the stripe swipe.

 

[ackvil]

I hadn't really checked in to the chip cards but looks like they also give a one-time use code to the merchant. The only place that is using the chip cards near me seems to be Target which makes sense since they were involved in a pretty high profile hacking case not long ago. I'm seeing more of the chip card readers but most of them don't work yet and they're still requiring the stripe swipe.

Out here Home Depot, Wal-Mart, and many small merchants use the chip card reader.

 

[redrako]

Most credit cards and some debit cards offer email and/or text message alerts that can be configured to send alerts for any card usage. I use 2 gas company credit cards and receive a text alert on my phone before I can pull out of the station onto the street.

Additionally, be in the habit of checking bank and credit card account regularly (minimum of every few days) online.

 

[thematthatter]

I only use pumps that have the security seal in place. Just completed a little road trip recently and while I was in the great State of Texas noticed in two different gas stations that all the seals were cut. I ended up finding a walmart 45 minutes later that was good.
Read somewhere that the keys to gas pumps are easy to get a hold of and it it doesn't take much for someone to open a pump up while the main store is closed and slide a skimmer in it, middle of the night.

 

[jamesspo]

The basic issue here is using a debit card for, well, anything . Just get a credit card, and use that..if you must have plastic. You'll eventually get your money back for a debit card incident, but you're down the money until that happens. It's also risky to have with you in the case that you're mugged, etc. You may well be forced to an ATM to withdraw money at gunpoint. With a credit card, the max you can ever be out is $50, and that's only if don't report an issue in a reasonable amount of time. As mention prior most every credit card today offers email alerts for charges, making it very easy to see any fraud, which can be immediately reported. No filing police reports or affidavits. Just make a claim against the charge online or over the phone. Issue fixed. Most of the time, Discover discovers fraudulent things before I do. They've got some very smart detection algorithms.

Yeah, the occasional new card issue due to a security breach is inconvenient, but it's well worth it for the convenience of having the card. It's also lucrative because of the cash back. Of course, don't carry a balance. Pay it off every month.

 

[alex2363]

I find the convenience of credit/debit cards greatly outweighs the potential loss.

Carrying cash has its own drawbacks, and if you lose it or get robbed, it can't be replaced. And there are few things that I buy, except for Lottery Tickets and drinks at a bar, that need to be done strictly in cash.

With debit cards, you get an electronic record of every cent you spend. Much easier to track things down if you need to go back a few weeks and find out when and for how much you purchased a particular item. Keeping those same records manually on paper would be a nightmare for me.

My debit card is linked to my checking account, and that has overdraft protection so that if the balance drops below zero, it will draw funds from other reserve and savings accounts to make up the difference.

It has come in handy a few times, when I've forgotten exactly how much I have in that account.

In a perfect world, I would keep a minimum of funds in that checking account, and un-link them from other accounts. So if I do get hit by an unauthorized withdrawal, it can't reach the balances in my larger accounts.

Even so, I am protected against fraudulent transactions. But I don't look forward to all the hassle and paperwork that I'd need to go through to take advantage of that protection.

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