<p>
The problem with the “protected” debit card is that your money is still gone until (and if) a dispute is determined in your favor. If there’s fraud on my credit card, I don’t pay. If there’s a fraud on my debit card, and I need the cash, I’m out of luck.</p>
<p>With breaches like the Target breach, the PIN would have been recorded too. The PIN doesn’t add security if there is a skimmer with a camera or if someone is harvesting the data sent over the network because that PIN is also sent over the network. </p>
<p>I work in information security and if anybody was asking me the best way to solve this issue, I would recommend a one time PIN system. It would take longer at check outs so people might not take to it, but if you ever had an RSA key or a system where a one time authentication number can be sent to you via text, it would work that way. You configure the methods they can send you a PIN- email or text to your cell phone- and when you were about to make a purchase, you’d request that one time PIN, receive in a text or email to your smart phone and enter it in. Typically, they are only good for one minute, but I think for credit cards, I’d extend that to 5 minutes so you could be getting your PIN while being rung up. </p>
<p>Credit card companies do lose a lot of money when there are large breaches like this. The re-issuing of cards, management of the incident, increased volume of calls, and the common occurrence (required by law in some states) of paying for credit monitoring for one year adds up very quickly for these large breaches. I think the one time PIN technology would be cheaper. It wouldn’t change anything for merchants who already accept debit cards with PINs because that PIN authentication is done by the debit card company, not the merchant. </p>
<p>To the OP- you’re making an assumption that your card number and security code was harvested recently and that could be a bad assumption. Sometimes when a card number and code have been stolen, the culprits wait some time to use it to reduce the likelihood of being caught. There have been cases of restaurant servers taking cards and writing down all the numbers to use them later. This can happen at any establishment where they take your card out of your sight.</p>
<p>Twice the bank has stopped a suspicious charge before they went through. I trust the bank to make it right. I don’t and won’t use credit cards.</p>
<p>CT1417,
There is a charge to freeze/unfreeze in my state <em>if</em> you have no been a victim of identity theft. But it is a FREE service if one has been (as we were several years ago). I believe its free for 7 years. </p>
<p>Our bank required my DH, when he had to get a new ATM card, to get an ATM/debit card combo. I managed to get an ATM card alone (no debit card) but they changed the rules and when he accidentally left it in the ATM, thats what he had to get. Also, our new HSA card is a debit card. No idea why.</p>
<p>I got my first chip card a few months ago. So the US is slowly catching up.</p>
<p>Excuse me. What is a credit card freeze?</p>
<p>While it’s true that a PIN may also be recorded by a skimmer, if there is a chip which also requires a PIN for a transaction, it will lessen the chance of fraud. Information on the chip is more difficult to retrieve than that on the magnetic strip. When chip cards were introduced here, CC fraud wasn’t eliminated but it was reduced by close to 40% in the first year.</p>
<p>ALP-
Its a credit freeze (not a card freeze). No one can check your credit or try to open a new account without your unfreezing it, and you have to know the passwords to unfreeze it. You can unfreeze it for any length of time (an hour a day, a few weeks) and then freeze it back. Its great protection abainst fraud.</p>
<p>artlover, when you have the freeze nobody can take out new lines of credit in your name without confirming it with you first-- which also means it’s a bit slower when you want to take out credit for yourself, but it’s not bad. My fiance had to put a complete freeze on after his identity theft fiasco, and the only inconvenience is that we had trouble when we moved because the utility company couldn’t verify his identity for some reason, they said it was due to the freeze. It was easy to sort out but it took us a few weeks to figure out what the problem even was.</p>
<p>Most times if you are the victim of actual or ootential ID theft, you can have free freeze of credit. Rules vary by state. </p>
<p>By the way, if you’re denied credit you can get a free credit report from the company used in addition to the normal 3 free credit reports/year.</p>
<p>I belong to a credit fraud alert service for around $50 a year. If there is any change to my Experian, Equifax or Transunion credit reports, I am notified immediately. So if anyone tried to open a credit card in my name (it has happened to me), I would be notified immediately. This way I know my credit score has not been altered without me knowing. </p>
<p>Recently, I opened a deposit account at a bank and they did a hard credit pull, which I knew about because of the credit fraud service. I had the bank rescind the credit inquiry so it wouldn’t affect my score.</p>
<p>I go over my statements carefully every month and last April I found an $80 charge in another state. I was actually out of the country that week and H was at home. We both still had our cards. When I questioned the charge, I was told that it was an in- person transaction for vitamins in a drug store. The merchant provided the signature which was not mine (it was a squiggle whereas I always sign my whole name or first initial and last name. In any event, the first letter of my first name is always clearly visible. There were no other unfamiliar charges. I think that this was an electronic glitch, because no one ever tried to use it again and I didn’t question it until a couple of weeks later when the bill came. The card was cancelled and we got a new one and were not responsible for the charge.</p>
<p>In another incident, S2 lost his card. He thinks he used it to pay at a parking garage and the attendant didn’t return it. Whoever took the card immediately tried to use it at several places for big ticket items. I think they were able to charge a tank of gas, but the charges for all the electronics were refused and we were contacted. That card was cancelled, too.</p>
<p>We have a lot of charges that are questioned, because we and S2 do a lot of on-line purchases from a lot of different places. H travels abroad a lot and will have travel and other charges from overseas. They rarely question the charges he makes while he is there, but almost always question the ones he makes before he leaves the U.S.</p>
<p>It happened here with DD’s credit card when she was in Africa in the Peace Corps. It took six months to correct. Of course, we were dealing with Bank of America.</p>
<p>Happened with DH’s credit card. It was corrected within minutes…local bank.</p>
<p>How and where to apply for the credit freeze program？ This is new to me。
Thanks。</p>
<p>I just returned from overseas. Called the credit card co (in advance) that doesnt charge an international fee to tell them I’d be there so they didnt cut off the card thinking it had been stolen!</p>
<p>artlovers-
you have to contact each of the 3 bureaus individually to set up the credit freeze.</p>
<p>It has happened to us a number of times. Usually after being in a resort area. Between gas stations and restaurants in those transient areas there are a lot of credit card thefts. It is a pain when the card has to be replaced but the bank usually catches it before the charges ever even show on my account.</p>
<p>Once we went to two fast food restaurants and then caught a staxi to the airport. The card was DECLINED! We were surprised and embarrassed at the time. We ended up paying the cabbie in cash but that was one of the few times we had a card declined because the charges “weren’t our usual pattern.” Not sure if it was the charges to fast food places in connection with the taxi to the airport or something else that tripped the issuer to decline the charge.</p>
<p>Sometimes when we travel, one of our cards will be declined while the others work fine. We always call the companies in advance to let them know our travel plans, so are surprised when we have these problems.</p>
<p>My parents’ card company has called my dad before to ask him about potentially fraudulent charges on his credit card, because there were just too many of them to be normal, and it turned out to be my mom’s Christmas shopping. It was pretty funny at the time.</p>
<p>how about this one?</p>
<p>We have a huge credit card charge that is obviously not correct and for an unknown vendor. We call the credit card company … we live in Boston and it was charge for a hot air balloon ride in San Diego. We had numerous other charges on and around that date for Boston area venders we use often … they cancelled the charge over the phone.</p>
<p>I got a voice mail from my bank this morning…no info, just please call us back (small, locally based credit union.)</p>
<p>When I called they asked if I had authorized two charges adding up to over $700! I said no and they immediately canceled the card and put a new one in the mail. I had to verify extra security info because I asked them to send the new card to an address other than the one they have on file. </p>
<p>No idea when or where I got compromised…I’m thinking at a gas station I went to before I left Indiana to come home for the holidays, but that was almost two weeks ago now. Doesn’t really matter, since the bank caught it and I’m not responsible for any of the charges…just scary.</p>
<p>I did have an incident the day before Thanksgiving when I went clothes shopping and they declined the charge…turns out I forgot to tell my bank I was moving to Indiana for school. Oops!</p>