Debit Card Woes

Image by Neil T via Flickr

I pay the majority of our bills online using my debit card. I do shop online too. I've been doing this for many years and fortunately have not had any problems...until recently. Twice within the last two months my debit card has been "hacked."

Praise the Lord I've changed the way I handle my bank accounts the last six months so I didn't lose any money both times my card's security was breached. The credit union just cancelled my card and issued me a new one both times without me even knowing it (although they did try calling me and couldn't reach me.)

I used to use my debit card for absolutely everything...never carrying cash on me at all. The last six months though I've been paying our bills on payday (online) using my debit card so the money comes out instantly and then I transfer some to savings and pull the rest of the money out of the bank. I have found that we are better able to save from week to week if the money is sitting in a safe place at home as opposed to sitting in the bank where we can see the available amount at any given moment. If we do need to use our debit card while we are out, I just call and transfer the money from savings.

Because of this habit I've started the credit union knew something was up when a very large charge was trying to be made using my debit card and the money wasn't in the account to cover this charge...so they tried calling me and when they couldn't reach me, they declined the charge and cancelled my card. When I returned their call the next day and found out what had happened AGAIN I was so appreciative they had been pro-active in their efforts to prevent me from losing a lot of money and going through a lot of hassle!

Now, I'm on my third card in two months...this time they sent me a keychain card too. Hmmm, not sure if I like this thing yet or not.