First Person: Is Your Debit Card Secure?

ATM debit cards are tied to your checking account. With a debit card, you can make purchases quickly and easily both online and at retail locations and the money is automatically withdrawn from your checking account. While the ease of use makes debit cards popular with both consumers and retailers, you should be aware the your debit card account information can become compromised. In the wrong hands, your debit account information can add up to thousands of dollars worth of unauthorized transactions.

How does your debit card information become compromised? There are several ways this can happen. Your local retailer may store your debit card information on their local network after you have made a transaction using your debit card. Certain store employees have access to this information. This can also happen at places such as restaurants when you give the server your debit card to pay for your meal.

You should also never give your debit card account information to anyone over the telephone. Once they have your information, automatic withdrawals can be scheduled to be withdrawn from your bank account causing you to become overdrawn. Beware of scams where someone identifying themselves as a bank employee wants to verify your account information. Your bank already has your information and will not call you over the phone to verify it. Your response to such inquiries should be that you will make a personal trip into the bank to verify your account.

Using your debit card to make purchases online can also be dangerous. Make sure the company you are using has a secure "https" connection so that hackers will not be able to access your account information and charge purchases to your debit card. While credit card companies generally limit the liability for unauthorized transactions to $50, unauthorized transaction debit card liabilities can be as much as $500 even if you dispute the charge, which may take the bank up to 10 business days to investigate.

If your debit card has been used without your consent, you should notify your bank immediately to prevent any further unauthorized transactions from occurring. If you are continuously being charged for unauthorized transactions, you may end up having the cancel your current debit card and let the bank reissue your card with a different account number.

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