I must find some way to protect my accounts.

Today, I tried to use my card at Sam�s Club....declined.

I call...my account is frozen. The bank wants to verify two charges. Some outfit named payments....had a 36.41 charge....I have no idea who that might be. So that account is dead...new card on the way. I�ve had this card two weeks...new card coming.

I appreciate my bank catching the charge...but this is the third time this has happened.

What do you folks do to avoid this kind of thing. This is a major inconvenience.

Credit card or debit card?

Credit...

I keep several cards and only use one at a time. If one gets compromised (and they do on a disturbingly regular basis), I switch my spending to a different card. In the meantime, the old card gets replaced and will sit idle till it's needed again.

Unfortunately, the criminals are getting savvy faster than the financial services can figure out defenses.

I use Amex. They have instantaneous notification of any charge. The phone pings me before the receipt prints. The only problem is it doesn�t help if you are asleep but it will be on your screen. Others have this feature but are slow slow slow. I set my lower limit at $10. Avoid places that don�t generally have chip readers.

We�ve gone through it with our credit card two or three times in the last few years. It�s not fun, but better than having it happen with a debit card.

I have used the same debit card/charge card account since 1990. Have never had a bit of trouble but once. I used the debit to pay PayPal for something I was buying in another country. Turned out to be a scam of some sort. Within two hours of making the transaction I got a call from my credit union saying they had frozen the account and were issuing a
new card. It seems like someone had tried to empty and close the account.

Maybe I just been lucky or the thief looks at my name and figures it's already fake. I don't feel any great need to change anything.

No debit cards
One credit card
Life Lock

PH, the same thing happened to us about two weeks ago with a Citi Visa card. Somebody was making charges in Pennsylvania and the were denied and the card frozen. None of the charges were ours so we got a new card the next day. It's a pain in the azz for sure.

We were traveling that weekend and my new card was declined at a hotel until they spoke with us. Annoying but necessary I guess.

At least once a year I get nailed. I use one card and have it send me text notices when used.

What�s the credit card vs. debit card advantage? Over time, both my debit card and my credit card have been compromised. I noticed no difference in how they were handled. (e.g. both got replaced, all charges reimbursed...etc.)

When your debit card gets hit, your money is gone for whatever span of time it takes for the bank to repair the damage. For some folks, having their bank account emptied temporarily is catastrophic, especially if it causes other payments to bounce (like rent, car note, etc).

Credit card only affects your line of credit with that lender.

This used to happen to us quite regularly and we finally narrowed it down to a few restaurants we used to frequently eat at. Now my credit card never gets out of my sight. According to the police someone was making a copy with a scanner while the card was in their possession.
Now I pay cash or walk to the bar to pay so I can see my card during the process. It won't stop it but sure has slowed it down.

Ahhh, got it. Thank you Uncle Zeek!

One personal card and one business card. Both have been hacked this year. Just recently someone tried to change my address on my personal card. Went in and changed log in credentials and so far everything looks good.

Capital One for both cards and they have always caught the fraudulent activity before It came up on a message. Locked account and contacted me. New cards immediately sent out.

Every time my or my wife's card is used, I get an alert in my Capital One app.