Does anyone carrying around cash anymore? Do you find yourself swiping your debit card on all your daily purchases? Your debit card, being directly linked to your checking account and your savings account (if you have overdraft protection) is at risk for scams.

Find out what the riskiest places are to use your debit card and how you can protect yourself from a debit card scam.

BEWARE OF GAS STATIONS

Choose to use the credit card OPTION with your ATM instead of putting your PIN card number into those independently owned and operated ATM gas pumps. One scam technique called skimming is to locate and steal your PIN number and pull out cash from your checking account.

DEACTIVE YOUR OVERDRAFT OPTION

Deactivate your overdraft protection plan that links your savings account to your debit card. The more money saved in your savings account, the riskier it is to link it to your debt card. Go talk to your local bank about the risk involved. You will find that most bankers discourage linking your larger savings to a debit card.

A great alternative is set up a second saving account with a smaller balance and connect this to your debit card. This option works well in case you make an overdraft, so you won’t be liable for overdraft fees.

CREDIT CARD VS. DEBIT CARD

Consider making purchases with your credit card instead of your debit card. Although the risk of credit card fraud is still present, criminals will be make a purchase on your credit card (most credit cards protect customers from this) instead of accessing your personal checking and savings accounts and pulling out cash. Banks insure your accounts, however with long investigation processes, it may take a while to resort your account.

DON’T TRUST NON BANK ATM

Protect your debit card and PIN number from ATM machines that are isolated. These ATM machines can be located at carnivals and fairs, outside shopping areas, or an airport; and are less protected by security than an ATM at a bank. There have been reports that ATM’s could be wired to keep your ATM stuck inside the machine and record your PIN number.

Read more: How to Protect Yourself From Debit Card Scams | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_5874374_protect-yourself-debit-card-scams.html#ixzz0yrX7XGaK