Debit cards are a good thing in some ways. They come in handy when shopping online and it can be easier than carrying cash. There is a downside to using a debit card, especially in the modern world. Everything is high tech now, including criminals.
On lookers
The neighborhood ATM is not the only danger zone for the presence of on lookers. They can be in line behind you at the supermarket, or casually step in behind you while you are using a self checkout at a local Walmart. The sneaky on looker can be very crafty in the way they notice your card numbers as soon as the card becomes visible to them. It does not necessarily matter if these fiends have your pin number. As long as they can see what bank the card was issued from, and the card number, they can sometimes manage to get the rest of your information.
Unencrypted Websites
This applies to using your debit card online to make purchases. You must be careful these days, some websites may claim that they offer safe and secure transactions, however this is not always the case. Some of these websites steal your information and then the real trouble begins. For example: you pay for a membership to a certain website and then decide you do not want to renew your membership, you may still receive charges on your debit card, even after you cancel your membership.
Identity theft
This one goes hand in hand with on lookers. These are some very nasty thieves. Once these criminals have your information, they can literally ruin you financially. They gain access to your personal and banking information and it goes from there. They will take your information and buy things with your credit, max out your credit cards and even clean out your bank account. It is possible to gain just enough from glancing at your debit card, or gaining your information from a non-secure website.
Lost card
It is easier to lose a little plastic card than it may sound. It is easy to hand your debit card to a cashier and then walk away not noticing that the cashier put the card down on the counter under the receipt, for an example. Everyone always says it will never happen to them. Well, you know what they say: “Never say never!”. The hustle and bustle of the holiday shopping season is the worst time for things like this to happen to people.
Make sure you weigh the pros and cons before you use your debit card the next time.