Equifax
Report Order: 1.800.685.1111
Fraud Hotline: 1.888.766.0008
www.equifax.com
Experian
Report Order: 1.888.397.3742
Fraud Hotline: 1.888.397.3742
www.experian.com
Trans Union
Report Order: 1.877.322.8228
Fraud Hotline: 1.800.680.7289
www.tuc.com
Consumers often ask whether debit or credit cards provide greater consumer protection against fraud. The question itself indicates a few key preconceived notions about fraud as it relates to personal finance; as a consumer, it's important to know that:
Yet it's understandable that consumers are concerned about the security of their hard-earned money, and many may still want to know: will using either a credit card or a debit card make dealing with fraud easier?
Credit cards make breaches of financial security slightly easier to address. With a credit card, a consumer has at least 21 days from the time a statement is available to pay the amount due. That's plenty of time to notice unauthorized charges, notify your issuer of the issue, and have them removed from your bill. With a debit card, on the other hand, a thief could clear out your bank account before you notice. Although you will recover all of your money, finding your bank account empty can be quite a shock.
The real difference in financial security comes when you compare both credit cards and debit cards to cash. If a thief gets hold of your cash, there's really nothing you can do, save filing a report with the police. Cash doesn't come with a $0 liability guarantee, after all.
Let's cover all the bases. In terms of liability, prepaid cards are similar to debit cards. The primary difference is that instead of being linked to a bank account, a prepaid card is linked to a reloadable prepaid account.
There are a few steps you can take to further insulate yourself from financial intruders, no matter how you choose to go about spending your money. It's always a good practice to:
Credit cards and debit cards have far greater purchasing power than the cash you carry in your wallet, yet they also offer considerably lower liability than other forms of payment. However, fraud can lead to considerable hassle and financial troubles, so make sure you continue to take steps to safeguard your personal finances.