<p>I called to activate my first credit card today. Unfortunately, I did it during the Florida vs Alabama game, and I spaced out on all the things the guy was lecturing to me. One thing that caught my ear was the identity theft protection service, and that it costs 9 dollars/month.</p>
<p>So off the top of my head, is it really necessary?</p>
<p>not at all… all they do is monitor your credit reports, which you can do yourself for free once a year.</p>
<p>Seriously, if i were you id ask this question in the parents forum. i bet there are some parents who use credit cards alot who would know also. It sounds kind of like insurance.</p>
<p>I miss the simple life man…</p>
<p>No. It’s practically fraud. Check out the details and you’ll see that identity theft protection doesn’t pay you back for the losses caused by use of your credit card by another party–the credit card issuer has a separate agreement for that and it doesn’t cost a dime. It just pays you for “expenses incurred” to restore your credit. I.e. nothing.</p>
<p>And consider the costs. How much do you plan to spend with your credit card each month? $1000? Less? You’re paying $9/mo–so if you spend $1000 per month on that card then this payment is essentially 10.8% interest on your revolving line of credit. The less you spend, the higher the interest.</p>
<p>They’re trying to own newbies.</p>
<p>One can initiate chargebacks on fraudulent purchases. Threatening a chargeback is also a good way to cut through bull-crap.</p>
<p>shall I lock my credit card in a vault until I research enough about it? I don’t really know why I got a credit card. Technically, I can buy everything I need with debit.</p>
<p>My credit card info got stolen while on vacation (they can swipe it via an alternative scanner and record your info, then make a duplicate card) and charged about $500 on it.</p>
<p>Visa picked up on it and called me. They removed the charges. All I needed to do was fill out an affidavit stating I did not authorize the charges. As far as I know i had no special protection.</p>
<p>A credit card is a good thing to have for emergencies or when major expenses occur, such as vehicle repairs.</p>
<p>define emergency. Do you mean if someone else needs it badly, they can borrow it?</p>
<p>Does it have anything to do with security? I mean wouldn’t it be a bad thing if you give out your debit card number? Like if you buy from Amazon, or Medspec. You give out your debit card number and some hacker gets a hold of it. So if someone has your info, they can just take from your checking account, and you’re screwed because I doubt the bank will cover your loss.</p>
<p>Emergency as in you are stranded in the middle of nowhere and need to tow your car and spend three nights in a hotel because you are stuck in a blizzard.</p>
<p>However, I suppose emergency could be defined as needing a case of beer for the weekend.</p>
<p>I sure as hell would never let anyone borrow my credit card, you are asking for it if you do that.</p>
<p>I might consider locking the credit card in that vault while you figure these things out. No, you don’t lend a friend your credit card. o.O</p>
<p>I know. I was going to say… why the hell would I do that?</p>
<p>I thought credit cards back you over contested purchases over $50 regardless. I’ve lost my credit card and atm card a couple of times, and nothing happened. Then again, someone registered to vote using my information, so identity theft is possible. See if there is protection without the charge. Credit cards are a great way to build credit.</p>
<p>hey. It’s safe to use debit card for paypal payments right? As long as my payment is through paypal, my card number is safe with paypal, and I can get buyer fraud protection. correct?</p>
<p>I just want to make sure, because my superstitious father won’t shut up about using the temporary card number feature on the discover card. I mean as long as paypal keeps my info safe, the temporary card number seems like icing on the cake. It’s not really extra safety, just extra reassurance. RIGHT?</p>