|
U.S. PIRG Consumer Blog
« NJPIRG Critiques Telco Video Rollout For Possible Redlining |
Main
| Fox45-Baltimore video clip on net neutrality/Internet freedom »
November 20, 2006
4 of 5 breaches at point of sale (stores)
Data security expert Avivah Litan of the Gartner Group is reporting that 4 out of 5 breaches are occurring in point-of-sale (POS) systems -- e.g., convenience stores,gas stations, grocery stores and other retail outlets. According to this Computerworld story quoting Litan, Fifth Third Bank of Cleveland has joined a growing number of banks and credit unions re-issuing debit cards after a breach at the Wesco convenience store chain.
Consumers should remember two things about debit cards:
Even though your bank may make "promises" to make you whole ("zero liability") after debit card fraud, credit cards are much better protected by law. With a credit card, your liability is limited to $50 by law, and you also have Fair Credit Billing rights, allowing you to dispute items that don't arrive or don't work properly. With a debit card, your maximum liability by law ratchets up over time, and you could end losing all the money in your account, or more. (PIRG fact sheet linking to Federal Reserve fact sheet).
With a debit card dispute, you're fighting with the bank over getting your own money back. Meanwhile, while it is missing from your account, you could have other checks that bounce.
The best advice is to only use debit cards in ATM machines. Maybe with all this fraud, the banks will go back to offering plain old ATM cards.
Posted by Ed Mierzwinski at November 20, 2006 11:19 AM
Post a comment
|
