| There are 437,000,000 debit cards in circulation, and | | | | These people are professionals. There used to be a |
| their use is on the rise. Criminal hackers are paying | | | | day when phish emails contained obvious misspellings |
| attention. Credit cards offer some measure of | | | | and but now they are organized and sophisticated. |
| protection, but when a debit card is compromised, the | | | | And as more people go paperless and get their bank |
| stolen money is taken directly from the victim's bank | | | | statements online, it is becoming more common for |
| account. | | | | criminals to take advantage of that process, sending |
| Federal laws limit cardholder liability to $50.00 in the | | | | emails that appear to be statement notifications. If you |
| case of credit card fraud, as long as the cardholder | | | | think an email might be phishing, delete it immediately. |
| disputes the charge within 60 days. Debit card fraud | | | | And don't click on links in emails. Either manually type |
| victims must notify the bank within two days in order | | | | the link into the address bar, or use your bookmarks |
| to maintain this $50.00 limit. After that, the maximum | | | | menu. |
| liability jumps to $500.00. And if a victim doesn't | | | | According the the Secret Service, Skimming is one of |
| discover or report the fraud until after 60 days have | | | | the financial industry's fastest growing crimes. The |
| passed, the liability could be the entire card balance, for | | | | ATM Industry Association reports over one billion |
| a debit or credit card. Once your debit card is | | | | dollars in annual global losses from credit card fraud |
| compromised, you might not find out until a check | | | | and electronic crime associated with ATMs. A |
| bounces or the card is declined. And once you do | | | | skimmer is a hardware device that a thief places on |
| recover the funds, the thief can just start all over | | | | the face of an ATM, which matches the machine itself. |
| again, unless you cancel the account altogether. | | | | It's almost impossible for a civilian to notice the |
| There are a few known scams that can make you | | | | difference unless the skimmer is of poor quality, or the |
| vulnerable to debit card fraud. | | | | civilian has a unique eye for security. Often, the thieves |
| There's the bait and switch. When making a purchase | | | | will mount a small pinhole camera somewhere near the |
| online, you may be prompted to make an additional | | | | ATM, perhaps in a brochure holder, to record the |
| purchase that appears to be a one time fee, but is | | | | victim's PIN. Gas pumps are equally vulnerable to this |
| actually an ongoing monthly debit that is nearly | | | | scam. Pay very close attention during ATM and gas |
| impossible to cancel. That's when canceling your card | | | | pump transactions. If something seems wrong, it is |
| is the only way out. While this isn't technically criminal | | | | wrong. Look for double stick tape, removable features |
| hacking, it is very slimy marketing. The best way to | | | | on the face of the ATM, a card sticking inside the |
| protect yourself from this one is to always read the | | | | reader, or additional mirrors or brochure holders that |
| fine print before making an online purchase. Just be | | | | could contain a small camera. |
| smart. | | | | 1. Prevent new account fraud. Get a credit freeze. Go |
| Unless you have been living in a cave, you've probably | | | | to ConsumersUnion.org and follow the steps for your |
| received a phishing email at some point. Criminal | | | | particular state. This is an absolutely necessary tool to |
| hackers, assisted by teams of psychologists and | | | | secure your credit. In most cases, it prevents new |
| sociologists, are designing and selling phishing kits to | | | | accounts from being opened in your name. This |
| one another. They know what makes you tick and | | | | makes your Social Security number useless to a |
| they know what will convince you to click on a link. | | | | potential identity thief. |