4th Day: Holiday Shopping Quiz – Is Credit or Debit Smarter?

Holiday Security Tips: On the fourth day of Christmas, the experts gave to me, 4 pay solutions!

True or False?

When you use a debit card, funds are more secure because they are drawn directly from your bank.

False. While it’s true that funds are drawn directly from your bank, it actually makes it harder to get the money reimbursed while the issue is being resolved if fraud does occur.

You can receive a reimbursement for debit card fraud up to a year later.

False. Debit cards generally only reimburse fraudulent purchases if you catch them within 60 days.

It is safer to use a credit card than a debit card.

True. When you use a credit card, nothing is withdrawn from your bank account immediately. Pending transactions can take several days to clear. In addition, credit cards uniformly give you more protection than debit cards and your maximum liability is capped at $50.

All checks are created equal.

False. If you have to pay by check, make sure you use high security checks. Security checks should include visible fibers, true watermarking, full-feature hologram (like on credit cards) and protection against multiple chemical alteration agents (not just fingernail polish remover). This makes it much harder for identity thieves to “wash” your checks with acetone and put their own names in the “pay to” field. Also, sign your checks with a gel-based pen that cannot be easily dissolved.

If you failed this quiz, don’t worry, as long as you remember the answers when you’re shopping! Wishing you straight A’s this holiday season! On the fifth day of Christmas…

To review our tips from previous days, click here.

John Sileo is an an award-winning author and keynote speaker on identity theft, internet privacy, fraud training & technology defense. John specializes in making security entertaining, so that it works. John is CEO of The Sileo Group, whose clients include the Pentagon, Visa, Homeland Security & Pfizer. John’s body of work includes appearances on 60 Minutes, Rachael Ray, Anderson Cooper & Fox Business. Contact him directly on 800.258.8076.

Posted by Identity Theft Speaker John Sileo in Identity Theft Prevention and tagged "High security checks", “Holiday ID Theft”, “Online scams”, “Prevent Identity Theft”, “Preventing Identity Theft”, Black Friday, Checks, Credit Cards, Cyber Monday, Debit Cards, holiday, Holiday Identity Theft, Holiday Scams, holiday security tips, Holiday Shopping, John Sileo, Sileo.