If you use your debit card for a transaction, the funds are immediately taken out of your bank account. If someone uses your debit card number fraudulently, you may be held accountable for any or all of the costs. As per the National Consumer Law Center, consumers are protected if they notify their financial institution within 60 days of receiving their debit card statement that they have illegal charges on their account. When your physical card is lost or stolen, the cardholder has just two business days to notify the card issuer of the loss. They will only lose $50 if they do this. They might lose up to $500 if they don't.
They might not receive any reimbursement if they wait months to tell the bank. In many cases, banks have enhanced their debit card security for their clients and will not hold customers accountable for any payments considered fraudulent. In particular, this is true if customers report any fraudulent transactions right away.
Tips for Safer Use of Your Debit Card
Frequently Change Your Debit Card PIN
To remind you, if you haven't changed your debit card PIN in a while, here it is: Why? If you often change your pin, hackers will have a harder time figuring out your PIN and stealing your debit card information will be less likely. Changing your PIN about every three to six months is a decent rule of thumb.
Make Use of an Encrypted Link
If you do business through an unencrypted connection, such as a public network, you put yourself at risk for identity theft. Why? Because of the lack of effective firewalls, most public networks are completely unsecured.
Become a Mobile Alerts Subscriber
Unusual debit card behaviour is a good place to start looking for potential fraud. You may check your EMI on a debit card by checking your monthly account statements, which detail all of your monthly spendings. The only problem here is that it's already too late by the time you notify your bank of this action.
Also Read: Which is safer cash or credit card?
Set Up Two-Factor Authentication for Your Account
Online transactions requiring debit card information such as Card Number, CVV, and Expiration Date demand this information from debit cardholders. Single-factor authentication is used here. In today's world, submitting your mobile number and email address is all it takes to enrol in a two-step authentication process at your bank. To authenticate your identity, you will get a One Time Password (OTP) on your phone or email when this option is enabled.
