Beware!!! I got robbed at ***-****!!

PirateGirl, the only thing bad about carrying the debit card is that, if stolen, you are in a very vulnerable position depending on how much you have in that particular account. With a credit card, you're only responsible for $50 of unauthorized charges. With debit cards, you can be fully responsible. Certainly a debit card is safer than carrying cash and probably equatable to carrying a checkbook, but most people would probably be better off carrying their debit card on their person rather than in a purse or pocketbook.

In this particular situation, the OP was being watched and was judged a target in all likelihood. Shopping at night, with a load of groceries and two kids equaled opportunity and distraction. I'm a proponent for either men to go with their wives/girlfriends to do the shopping or for women to have a shopping buddy, even at the grocery store. It should come as no surprise that women are often times made the target of a crime such as this one. However, as little of a chance as it may seem, it could open the door for other, more violent crimes as well. Remember the young woman that was abducted from a Target parking lot and later murdered?

Like I tell my wife, you never never know who you're meeting down the aisles of a store. They could be a minister or a two-time convicted rapist. Everybody has to eat; everybody shops. Malls, discount stores, grocery stories or shopping centers in general attract a variety of customers and all the more reason to be careful and watch your back. And its not just about women. Men can be targeted too obviously, however women are just going to be judged as a more vulnerable target for a male attacker.

 

Actually that's no longer the case (and hasn't been for a few years now). With debit cards, you are only liable for the first $50 as well, as long as you report the lost or stolen card within 48 hours ($500 liability if you're an idiot and wait longer).

 

This is why if any strangers get to close to me in public, I scream at them and spray a little pepper spray at them. It works they back away. They also look at you like you belong in the funny farm but it works.

 

We had our debit card # taken offline (Paypal, we think) and The SECU was great! The way we found out is a freeze was put on the acct (my DH found that out when he tried to pay for his haircut and his card was declined). He immediately went to the bank and they asked had we been to Canada recently. We hadn't so they put a fraud alert out. We were reimbursed all the money that had been taken from the acct. I also like how the SECU has started putting your photo on your card.

 

LOL, like I said in another post, I am very funny about my personal space. I HATE for someone to walk or stand too close and will go out of my way to avoid it. We lived in Illinois for a while when DH was in the AF, very near East St. Louis. There was lots of crime and a body count on the news every night. It made me pretty cautious because I was very naive when we first moved there. :?

 

I hope I never have to stop and ask you for directions.

 

I did not know that, Clif. Thanks for correcting me on that point and enlightening me at the same time.

 

Just to clarify, my earlier post about leaving your purse in your cart was my response to reading Dangerboy's post where he mentioned his mom leaving hers in her cart at White Oak. Just a friendly reminder. No blaming the victim here. Original poster actually said she had hers on, and that is very scary that someone would get that close to her to cut it with kids around.

 

I hate people who stand really close to you in public ( strangers) . I was at target xmas shopping weeks ago and this ole fart was standing right on me, I'd move he'd slide closer,I swear if he'd gotten any closer I'd be with child right now. I moved to another lane, just to get away from him. I was in a pretty good mood that day other wise he would have wore my hand print home. Well, and there was the fact he was old, I don't like hitting old people. Well, most old people. Some could benefit from a good smack every once in a while.LOL

 

You got that right. An itchy trigger finger on the pepper spray is a menacing thought indeed.

 

Clif, I hope not either! LMAO

 

I went with my mother to the store a few weeks ago and somebody was doing just that...standing what I thought was too close. We'd step up and he would step up. So, I turned sideways to keep him in my peripheral vision.

I'm a believer in the two feet rule. Where I stand is my space and I do not like a stranger to get within two feet of that space. I respect others in that regard, and I like to be given that same consideration.

 

I've actually asked people to back up, I don't care if they think I am nuts. I also try to keep my cart between me and the next person in line checking out. I hate for someone to be breathing down my neck while I am trying to pay.

 

It also elevates the crime from a misdemeanor to a felony. If they just grab your purse from your cart, that's misdemeanor theft, unless there's over a certain amount of money and other valuables in it. If they take it from your person, that's robbery, which is a felony.

 

But you have to depend on someone else to put the money back. With a credit card you can just refuse to pay the bill and you haven't lost anything.

 

Refuse to pay the bill and the credit card company will charge you a fee (even if the charge is knocked off). Why? Because they can.

 

It depends on who issues the debit card as to how you will be treated if your debit card is stolen. I just read an article in this month's Reader's Digest about this, here is a quote from it.

The whole article can be found here... http://www.rd.com/content/debit-card-traps-and-fees-to-avoid/

 

Thats what I was thinking. Even if you're not held responsible, your money is tied up until you get straightened out, and yes, if you don't have overdraft or something, there would be fees deducted also.

 

If nothing else, the tremendous amount of problems a stolen debit card could cause, is reason to be cautious with it. If you are using a debit card tied in with your primary checking account, you could have a lot of problems if someone uses the account without authorization. Returned checks, overdraft charges as bandmom stated...that could present a very nasty situation to have to deal with.

Personally, I think the best thing to do is to use a regularly used credit card for monthly expenses and then pay it off each month with a check mailed to the bank issuing the credit card. Of course, that takes discipline because some may be tempted to charge more and carry over a balance.

 

Rather than a quote from Reader's Digest, I'd rather give you a quote from

Visa...

and

Mastercard...