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Location: 23.7 million to 162 million miles North of Venus
23,561 posts, read 12,525,568 times
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Citibank this week announced that it was replacing the debit cards of customers whose accounts were compromised in the great Target Christmas hack. The names, addresses, telephone numbers and email addresses of more than 100 million Target customers got hacked but Citi delayed replacing them because it didn’t want to unnecessarily disrupt Christmas shopping.
But replacing these cards with the same magnetic stripe technology is like replacing a padlock that’s securing a lockbox with another padlock after someone just used a bolt cutter on it. Look at it another way: the credit card industry is still on dial-up while the thieves are using high-speed broadband. It’s a losing battle and one the reasons why the U.S. retail industry is going to remain a target until it catches up with the rest of the world.
One thing to keep in mind about debit cards, the debit card theft protection laws are no where near as strong as the credit card theft protection laws.
Even if your debit, or credit card, account was included in any of the retailer hacks, you are still responsible to make sure the bank/credit card company is aware of any breaches on your card within the time period laid out by the fed. If your info has been breached and used and your bank/credit card company hasn't already spotted it, but you have, and you don't report it in a timely manner then you may lose your protection rights, and your money.
Location: 23.7 million to 162 million miles North of Venus
23,561 posts, read 12,525,568 times
Reputation: 10475
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pitt Chick
Meh... I have never had a debit card because I have thought them to be 'dangerous' all along.
I'm the same. But there are people who make a conscious decision to risk their own money, by carrying wads of cash or using a debit card that is linked to their bank account, rather than using a credit card and letting the card companies carry the risk.
I often carry cash -- several hundred dollars and sometimes more -- in my wallet to cover my family's variable weekly expenses. I look at it as follows: in my purse are also my ID, my keys, and phone. With these items, somebody with bad intentions could also wreak havoc in my life. So regardless of whether I carry card or cash, I'm keeping a pretty tight hold on my bag. That is all.
Location: 23.7 million to 162 million miles North of Venus
23,561 posts, read 12,525,568 times
Reputation: 10475
Quote:
Originally Posted by randomparent
I often carry cash -- several hundred dollars and sometimes more -- in my wallet to cover my family's variable weekly expenses. I look at it as follows: in my purse are also my ID, my keys, and phone. With these items, somebody with bad intentions could also wreak havoc in my life. So regardless of whether I carry card or cash, I'm keeping a pretty tight hold on my bag. That is all.
Yes they can create havoc if they steal phones, keys and ID's, but those things can be replaced .. cash cannot. It doesn't matter if you have a death grip on your purse, if they want it bad enough they will get it, one way or another.
Yes they can create havoc if they steal phones, keys and ID's, but those things can be replaced .. cash cannot. It doesn't matter if you have a death grip on your purse, if they want it bad enough they will get it, one way or another.
You're kidding, right? I am much more worried about what someone might do with my address (from my ID) and my keys than with a few hundred dollars. While it would upset me that someone took my cash, it would be the very least of my concerns. The lesson here is that we carry access to our entire lives around in our phones and wallets, which makes us extremely vulnerable to crime beyond the theft of our pocket money. That's the larger issue about which we should be concerned, not whether someone prefers cash, debit, or credit. So, forgive me, but I just can't get riled up about the cash/card debate.
Last edited by randomparent; 01-23-2014 at 03:26 PM..
Here's another thing to consider, courtesy of a personal anecdote...
In 45 years, I have never been the victim of cash theft. Over that same period, my credit card information has been stolen six or seven times, always when I was traveling, and every single incident was a giant, time-consuming pain in the neck.
Is the Visa card that is attached to your checking account safe since it can be used like a credit card? I can't use credit cards. I have bad credit.
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