how safe is it to use debit cards for on-line purchases these days?

BlackElantraGT said:
Just make sure you understand their policies correctly. I wouldn't go by what a CS rep said because CS reps are notorious for giving out incorrect answers. Go on their website or read their brochure in writing so you fully understand what exactly they cover. I know that with some personal banks, they'll only cover the fraud after a certain amount, so you still pay a "deductible" out of your pocket.
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You beat me to it. The devil is always in the details.
 
BlackElantraGT said:
Just make sure you understand their policies correctly. I wouldn't go by what a CS rep said because CS reps are notorious for giving out incorrect answers. Go on their website or read their brochure in writing so you fully understand what exactly they cover. I know that with some personal banks, they'll only cover the fraud after a certain amount, so you still pay a "deductible" out of your pocket.
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I would also recommend checking what their policy is if another check bounces when your account gets zeroed out by fraud - you may be responsible for overdraft charges even if they cover the fraud.
 
Thor! said:
I only pay for online purchases via money order and have had zero issues. This is due in great part to having had my checking/debit + PayPal + eBay accounts hijacked a few years back and spending months seeking resolution and ultimately, never receiving full restitution. :( I ended up dropping PayPal entirely and canceling an ebay account where I had amassed over 200 positive feedbacks.
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Sorry to hear that - another reason why I stopped giving PayPal (or anyone else) my real credit card number and have never given them my checking account number. The less info that can get stolen, the better.



Fixing a credit report if you have a problem related to fraud requires many if not all of the following: hours and hours spent on filing a police report, numerous phone calls to get a supervisor-level CSR, certified mail to the company, the credit card and credit bureaus then months of waiting to see if it's been fixed.



A little off topic: I would also recommend dropping off mail with your checks only in secure mailboxes (e.g., inside the post office).
 
As mentioned earlier, Debit is always risky for if something happens, (identity theft, phishing, scam) Its your money that is lost, and your job to get it back. However, with a credit card, its the issuers money, all you have to do is make a claim or contest a transaction and now its the issuers job to get their money back. If Anyone wants more info on this, look up Frank Abagnale. Hes the guy that catch me if you can was based on. I was at an academic conference in chicago and Frank had a paper at the conference. Good Info to know.
 
Let’s look at the pros and cons if debit or credit cards if the website gets hacked or you number is stolen.



Debit cards…



You just deposited your paycheck the day before and sent off you mortgage payment, credit card payment, electric payment, car payment you get the idea. Since they withdraw all you cash from you checking account via the stolen debit card number all you bills for the month bounce and you find out on the way home for work when you try to buy gas to get home and find that you account is now ZERO balance. Unlike credit cards the bank limits, even for fraud is in favor of the bank and has lower limits than credit cards which vary between different banks. Also since it is a debit card it can take up to 90 days to even get any kind refund.



Credit Card



Plain and simple if your credit card number get stolen your paycheck and checking account is still safe and you can choose not to pay the bogus charges till the issue are resolved. Also, there is a higher limit on credit card fraud recovery than debit cards.



The Federal Trade Commission recommends that you DO NOT USE DEBIT CARDS online and they also recommend having one credit card only for online purchases with lower limits to reduce you exposure. I was ISP for 5 years and made many seminar on online sales and scams and there is a lot of them. You can trust you online retailer all you want but most of them use third party credit card processors/software and they are the ones being hacked and at risk.
 
Ive been buying stuff on the internet since 1997 and I bet have had thousands of transactions and never once had a problem with fraud or stolen numbers. You are fine.
 
DennisH said:
Let’s look at the pros and cons if debit or credit cards if the website gets hacked or you number is stolen.



Debit cards…



You just deposited your paycheck the day before and sent off you mortgage payment, credit card payment, electric payment, car payment you get the idea. Since they withdraw all you cash from you checking account via the stolen debit card number all you bills for the month bounce and you find out on the way home for work when you try to buy gas to get home and find that you account is now ZERO balance. Unlike credit cards the bank limits, even for fraud is in favor of the bank and has lower limits than credit cards which vary between different banks. Also since it is a debit card it can take up to 90 days to even get any kind refund.



Credit Card



Plain and simple if your credit card number get stolen your paycheck and checking account is still safe and you can choose not to pay the bogus charges till the issue are resolved. Also, there is a higher limit on credit card fraud recovery than debit cards.



The Federal Trade Commission recommends that you DO NOT USE DEBIT CARDS online and they also recommend having one credit card only for online purchases with lower limits to reduce you exposure. I was ISP for 5 years and made many seminar on online sales and scams and there is a lot of them. You can trust you online retailer all you want but most of them use third party credit card processors/software and they are the ones being hacked and at risk.
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Precisely. This is best business practice. I would ignore any advice to the contrary.
 
DennisH said:
You can trust you online retailer all you want but most of them use third party credit card processors/software and they are the ones being hacked and at risk.
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Regarding TJMaxx parent company: TJX admits that some of the data was stolen during the payment card approval process, in which data is transmitted to payment card issuers *without* encryption.



Do retailers have control over this or are most unaware of how they're processed?
 
DennisH said:
The Federal Trade Commission recommends that you DO NOT USE DEBIT CARDS online and they also recommend having one credit card only for online purchases with lower limits to reduce you exposure.
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Reducing your exposure is really what it's about. Now if you folks have trust funds somewhere as a backup, this probably wouldn't apply.
 
DennisH said:
The Federal Trade Commission recommends that you DO NOT USE DEBIT CARDS online and they also recommend having one credit card only for online purchases with lower limits to reduce you exposure.
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yeah, that's what i normally do but want to pay it immediately when i have the $. i guess i could just do the purchase a few days before the closing date then i'll get the statement/bill within a week or so...
 
If you have online access to your credit card, you could always make a payment right after your purchase. With any decent credit card company, you can make a payment online any time you want without having to pay a fee, as long as you don't do rush payment.



The one thing that might prevent you from doing that is if you don't carry a balance on your card, in which case some companies prevent you from overpaying a certain percentage more than your total balance owed.
 
If your bank allows electronic bill payment online or by telephone (I would use a landline that's *not* cordless if you use this option), you can set it up pay your credit card within a day or two of your purchase.



You don't even need stamps or an envelope.
 
zingyginger said:
Reducing your exposure is really what it's about. Now if you folks have trust funds somewhere as a backup, this probably wouldn't apply.
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Or someone who recommends debit card use as safe to indemnify incurred losses. :chuckle:
 
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