With credit cards, federal law limits your loss at a maximum of $50 if your card is lost or stolen major credit card issuers generally waive all liability for you. Now, I always make sure to notify my credit card companies if I’ll be taking a trip and expect to be using the card for larger purchases than normal.ĭebit cards offer less security than credit cards. (This has happened to me when I’ve been traveling and not told the card issuer I would be using it from another state.) It’s a pain, but I appreciate the protection. It might even deny the charge on the spot. These days, more than likely, your credit card issuer will contact you immediately if it spots an odd charge. You can catch an erroneous charge on your monthly credit card statement and dispute it without ever having to shell out a dime. Credit card charges don't carry that same risk. So, here are some important reminders about the distinctions between those types of debit cards and credit cards:ĭebit cards are linked to your checking account and have the potential to drain it in real time. This incident brought home the potential security issues of carrying around a debit card with a Visa or MasterCard logo. I felt like I had been robbed, violated in some way. What if we had bills scheduled for electronic payments or checks presented for payment and they collided with no funds left to pay? What if Cliff had needed cash on his travels and the card had been blocked by my request before I reached him? I can't imagine what a mess it might have been if I had not inadvertently checked the account that day and if additional charges were racked up, wiping out the account. That said, the whole experience was rattling. As far as I know, that’s the end of our story. Cliff received a new debit card the following business day. The bank made the adjustments to our account three days later by re-depositing the funds that had been withdrawn for each charge. He then called the bank’s toll-free number and filed an official report. (We surmised that he dropped it in our local Citi branch’s parking lot after using it and before driving to New York.) He didn’t know he had lost the card, but quickly discovered that it wasn’t in his wallet. (His chip card is supposed to guard against that from happening, but lots of ATMs have yet to convert.)Įven if Cliff had not been in a different state, given the nature of the transactions, I was certain that he was not making these purchases.
But I had no idea whether his card had been lost, stolen or if someone had just skimmed the number from his card at an ATM he used. Now for the awful part: I was told that nothing could be done about the cash that had already been siphoned until Cliff called and reported the card lost.
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