Debit Cards — Page 2

Debit cards are used by millions of people in this era. A debit card is another method of payment instead of using cash when purchasing something. It is a plastic card that is also called a check card or bank card. Having a debit card is like having a credit card minus the credit line. It is a great way of managing your money because you make sure that the things you purchase do no exceed to the amount you have in your bank. Many people regard a debit card as just another way to pay for a purchase.

Opting for a debit card is very easy. You don’t have to worry about your low credit report because the providers don’t check your record. It means everyone gets approved. Go to your bank and ask for an application. Fill out the application form and deposit funds into your deposit account. There are no extra payments involve in this process. After a week, your card will be delivered to you by mail along with a PIN needed for setting up and activating your debit card. A telephone number is included in the mail and you will have to call that number to answer some questions. After the call, type in the PIN and your debit card is activated.

Owning a debit card is very convenient for eliminate the need to write checks and show any identification. A person can freely use the card almost everywhere in many areas around the world. On the other hand, debit cards help you to control your excessive shopping habit because you can’t spend more than the amount in your account. It takes out a lot of tiresome jobs of paperwork to keep tracking your bills. Most importantly, using a debit card to shop on the Internet is the safest for you because it won’t expose your bank details, thus, preventing theft.

On the contrary, there is a risk involved in having debit cards. When your card gets into the wrong hands, expect that they can drain your bank account. Remember that a PIN code is not needed when using debit cards to transact a business. Avoid this problem by keeping your card in a very safe place always. Keeping and hiding your debit card receipts is very helpful to prevent thieves from gathering information through them. If your card is either lost or stolen, report this immediately to your
banking institution.

Debit cards are offered through Mastercard or Visa and these can be used anywhere. They are readily available in ATM’s, POS (Point of sale) terminals, and online as well as over the phone. Debit card registers can be used to record your spending, just like you would use your check register.

If you are like millions of people, you use a debit card to make your purchases in grocery stores, restaurants, fast food restaurant and a host of other establishments including the Internet.

Recently a debit card fraud took place and it was only caught because of careful checking of online transactions. Four purchases were made in a local area for Chinese food and pizza. They looked like normal purchases and perhaps would have gone unnoticed until much more damage was done. However, no one had visited these particular restaurants in months.

So how did this happen?

It took a visit to one of the restaurant to shed some light on the problem. The manager examined his receipts and was able to find all three transactions. This then triggered the manager’s memory of the customer who had telephoned in an order and read the debit card number as well as the expiration date. The thief then came in to pick up the order and all he did was sign the receipt. No one asked him for a card and no one cared that the signature was basically not readable.

Fortunately, because the thief had done this three times, the manager could describe the individual. He also had access to photographs of the person that were on his security camera. So there was no question that this was a fraudulent transaction.

Apparently someone who worked at a fast food restaurant had written down the card number and then used it. It was amazingly uncomplicated.

To protect yourself from this kind of debit card fraud, you need to make sure that when you are out and you hand someone your debit card that you can see what they do with it. It should not go out of your sight because writing those numbers down doesn’t take much effort. It just takes a minute. Make it a habit to either pay cash at the drive through fast food restaurants or make sure that you can see your card at all times.

In this fraud case, the debit card owner was checking their banking activity daily so the purchases were caught early enough not to do significant damage, but the consequences were that the card had to be cancelled and reissued with a different number. That can be a major inconvenience. Then there had to be a report filed with the bank that required disputing the charges and signing paperwork to that effect. The bank handled the rest of the dispute and reimbursed the money to the card owner.

So how common is this?

A bank teller recently said that there were at least two to three people a day that come in to dispute purchases that were not made by them. These purchases mostly involved unexplained Internet purchases and not debit card fraud. Debit card fraud is not as common, but it still happens and that should alarm anyone who uses debit cards on a regular basis. To protect yourself from this happening to you, take care when using your card and don’t let it out of your sight for any reason.

Use a debit wallet register

Tracking your expenses with a debit wallet register will help you quickly identify any unauthorized charges to your bank account. Protect yourself by keeping good records.