The easiest debit cards to obtain, especially for younger people who don’t have a credit rating, are generally linked to a bank account—I had one such at eleven, although I understand that’s unusually young. Use that card to make purchases and you’re essentially giving out a handle to that account, with obvious implications for fraud. My understanding is that recouping fraudulent withdrawals from a bank can be harder than doing the same for a credit line under some circumstances, and account balances are often higher than credit limits—though probably not for teenagers.
Ah! I see. Thankfully it’s the norm here in Australia that the card issuer is mostly responsible for card fraud and they are decently vigilant about it (me being in the reference class of “buys things online”, I have twice been called by my bank to inform me that my card has been blocked due to suspicious charges which were reversed upon me confirming I did not make those purchases). Judging from my parents’ experience with recouping credit fraud, the procedure is exactly the same. Thanks for taking the time to explain.
Yes, that’s what I was referring to. I use my debit card for online purchases, but I am selective about doing this, since I like to avoid fraud. I have had an experience with fraud before which was more time consuming than what you described (with a significant amount of paperwork), but did result in the bank returning the money to me. As a result of the unpleasantness of this experience, I tend to be reluctant to buy from sites I don’t clearly recognize as legitimate.
This is not a strictly online concern for me, though. I also make much fewer debit card purchases at stores nowadays and don’t use it at all at restaurants.
I would probably feel similar even if I had a credit card instead since I found the first experience so unpleasant.
Could you elaborate? I’m currently doing this, and I saw no downsides, but that comment makes it look like there might be good reasons not to.
The easiest debit cards to obtain, especially for younger people who don’t have a credit rating, are generally linked to a bank account—I had one such at eleven, although I understand that’s unusually young. Use that card to make purchases and you’re essentially giving out a handle to that account, with obvious implications for fraud. My understanding is that recouping fraudulent withdrawals from a bank can be harder than doing the same for a credit line under some circumstances, and account balances are often higher than credit limits—though probably not for teenagers.
Ah! I see. Thankfully it’s the norm here in Australia that the card issuer is mostly responsible for card fraud and they are decently vigilant about it (me being in the reference class of “buys things online”, I have twice been called by my bank to inform me that my card has been blocked due to suspicious charges which were reversed upon me confirming I did not make those purchases). Judging from my parents’ experience with recouping credit fraud, the procedure is exactly the same. Thanks for taking the time to explain.
I have a debit card which notifies me with a text message to my phone every time I make a purchase.
I’m jealous of this. I wish more banks and credit card issuers provided this feature.
Yes. When I discovered that, I was surprised that such a simple solution to the problem of card fraud existed but was not widely implemented.
!! This is a really, really good idea.
Yes, that’s what I was referring to. I use my debit card for online purchases, but I am selective about doing this, since I like to avoid fraud. I have had an experience with fraud before which was more time consuming than what you described (with a significant amount of paperwork), but did result in the bank returning the money to me. As a result of the unpleasantness of this experience, I tend to be reluctant to buy from sites I don’t clearly recognize as legitimate.
This is not a strictly online concern for me, though. I also make much fewer debit card purchases at stores nowadays and don’t use it at all at restaurants.
I would probably feel similar even if I had a credit card instead since I found the first experience so unpleasant.