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The Four Riskiest Places to Use Your Debit Card
Debit card fraud jumped about 10% last year. And having your debit info stolen is worse than a credit card, because they can access your ACTUAL money. So there are situations where using a credit card or cash is better.
Here are four of the riskiest places to use your debit card . . .
1. Janky ATMs that aren't associated with an actual bank. They're easier to hack, and more likely to have card skimmers, which are little devices that look like a normal card reader. But they steal your information.
2. Gas pumps. They're another popular place for card skimmers. So if you want to be careful about it, take a good look at the card reader before you use your card. Or go inside to pay.
3. Restaurants. They're one of the few places where someone else runs your card. So your waiter could use a handheld card skimmer. Or they could just take a photo of your card and use your info to buy stuff online.
4. On the Internet. Yes, using your debit card for ANY online purchase isn't a great idea, because there are several ways your info can get stolen.
You could have malware on your computer and not know it. Someone could be eavesdropping through your WI-FI. Or the website you're on could save your info and get hacked in six months. Which is why a lot of experts say using your debit card online is the RISKIEST thing you can do with it.