From the smarty-pants over at ShopSmart, here are the do's and don’ts of using a debit card:
DON’T use debit cards for big purchases. They
don’t offer the same protection that credit cards do. Credit cards
allow you to reverse or dispute charges, and some will even extend
the length of warranties.
DON’T use a debit card online. If you use a credit card,
your liability for unauthorized charges is capped at $50, no matter
what. If your debit card is lost or stolen, it must be reported
within two business days to limit liability to $50. If a lost or
stolen debit card is reported within 60 days, liability can go up
to $500. If an unauthorized transaction is not reported within 60
days of the statement date (and the card hasn’t been reported lost
or stolen), you’re on the hook for charges made after the 60th day
until the report is made.
Related: 7 Little Bargain Shopping Tips That Will Save You Major Money
DO click on “credit” and sign for payments instead of giving a PIN. Card companies might extend the same zero-liability protection to debit cards as they do to credit cards if the debit cards are processed like the latter, but PIN transactions might not have that protection.
DON’T link your debit card to an account with a lot of money. Thieves can empty your debit-card-linked checking account, so keep just enough in the account to cover current purchases.
Eek! I’m guilty of all of the above! Regularly!
How ’bout you guys? Who else has broken these rules? I better not be the only one!
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