Most credit cards offer fraud liability,
which means you will not be out any money, or at least not more
than fifty dollars if you are a victim of fraud or theft. Of
course, you need to be current on your payments and are required
to report any loss or theft as soon as you discover it.
Debit card users need
to notify the bank or credit union within two business days of
discovering the loss or theft of the card. The bank or credit
union cannot hold you responsible for more than the amount of
any unauthorized transactions or $50, whichever is less. Also
for debit cards, if you wait more than two days, but fewer than
60 days after receiving your statement, you can be liable for up
to $500 in charges. If you wait more than 60 days to report
debit card fraud/theft, you could be liable for all the money
taken, plus funds in a savings or other account linked to your
debit account.
A recent survey
showed 66 percent of Americans say they are more likely to
trust debit cards than credit cards. Those folks
should think a bit more about what it could cost them to use a
debit card vs. a credit card.