When Are Credit Cards Safer Than Debit Cards?

Certain consumers are biased against credit cards for a variety of reasons, but your debit card isn’t always the best solution either. Using a debit card for certain transactions can actually put you at risk of being the target of financial fraud. This article looks at several different places where you should be wary of swiping your debit card if you don’t want criminals to be able to empty your bank account.

Credit cards tend to have a bad reputation among certain consumers. Granted, many people who tend to look upon them with disdain have good reason to do so. They may have gotten into credit trouble in the past or been taught growing up that using credit cards will lead to financial ruin. Many of these consumers will use their debit cards for all of their important transactions because they feel like having money taken straight out of their bank accounts is a convenient way to pay for goods and services without having any chance of falling into the credit trap. What these consumers don't realize, however, is that using your debit card to conduct certain transactions is actually a very risky practice.

True, debit cards help you avoid credit woes, but they could put you at risk for fraudulent charges if you swipe them in some situations where the money is immediately withdrawn from your bank account, which means you can never accidentally spend money that you don't have. Unfortunately, clever criminals rely on the fact that the funds are directly withdrawn to quickly steal your money without you being able to reverse or dispute the charges. When a thief gets ahold of your debit card number, it is much more likely to cause you financial harm than if you use a credit card.

One of the most convenient features of credit cards is that they offer fraud protection. If someone makes a purchase on your credit card, you can dispute the charge, and you won't be responsible for paying. Debit cards, however, don't offer this same protection. Instead, thieves are able to quickly withdraw money straight from your bank account using your debit card information, and it can be all but impossible to get that cashback. If you can use a credit card responsibly, then it's almost always worthwhile for you to swipe that instead of your debit card.

After all, with credit cards, you can usually earn rewards in addition to being eligible for additional protection. If you are wary about credit, though, you might be interested to know where using your debit card is most dangerous. Here are a few places you should try to avoid ever swiping your debit card if you want to ensure your financial security easier for you to make purchases without having to leave the comfort of your home.

Internet

Along the same lines, however, the internet is the riskiest place for you to enter your debit card number. Thieves have countless ways that they can target your computer and/or connection to the web as a means of stealing your information. Your computer may be infected with malware, which could send your debit card number straight to a criminal and allow him to steal your money before you even know what happened.

Another way cyber criminals target victims is to tap into your Internet network as the data is transmitted between you and your ISP. As a general rule, you should never enter a debit card number into your computer.

Restaurants

Any time that your debit card gets taken into a back room without you being able to see it, you are opening yourself up to risk. Often, servers at restaurants will take your card to the back to run it before returning it several minutes later. In all likelihood, your server has just put your card through the computer, but you never know when he might have taken a picture or written down your card number while he had it in his possession.