Protect Your Debit Card!

Do you want to allow thieves to drain the money from your checking account? Silly question, we know. However, you may unwillingly give criminals access to your money. It happens every day, simply by using your debit card.

Debit cards are a more attractive target to thieves than credit cards because they take funds directly from your account. Credit card charges, on the other hand, run through a third party, so consumers dispute questionable charges more easily.

Debit card theft is even more infuriating because it often takes months to recover the lost money -- if the consumer actually spots the illegal activity.

One can never protect their debit card information 100 percent of the time, but there are ways to safeguard your money.

GO INSIDE

Outdoor ATMs are a frequent target of crooks who "skim" card numbers.

Skimming occurs when a special machine reads the debit card information. The thief places the machine over the real card slots at ATMs and other card terminals.

USE CASH AT THE PUMP

In addition, criminals use gas stations ATMs for debit card theft.

They will often position themselves near the gas station, with a laptop and an antenna. Their skimmer then reads the debit card information. There is typically very little supervision at a gas station, so thieves often make off with hoards of debit card numbers without detection. They will also place hidden cameras in a position to capture the ATM card PINs. If this occurs, the thieves can potentially wipe out someone's bank account before they realize it.

AVOID THE HACKERS

Experts warn consumers to avoid using debit cards for online transactions. Computer hackers compromise many systems with malware that can potentially steal all data stored on the device.

We hope these hints help to keep your hard-earned money more secure. 

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