• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Ask Liz Weston

Get smart with your money

  • About
  • Liz’s Books
  • Speaking
  • Disclosure
  • Contact

debit cards

Friday’s need-to-know money news

July 15, 2022 By Liz Weston

Today’s top story: First-time car buyers battle skimpy supply, sticker shock. Also in the news: Can student loan borrowers handle payments and inflation, 4 money moves to make before the baby arrives, and how to avoid ATM fees with these debit cards.

First-Time Car Buyers Battle Skimpy Supply, Sticker Shock
How to buy your first car when it’s the worst time to buy a car.

Can Student Loan Borrowers Handle Payments and Inflation, Too?
After nearly two and a half years of pandemic relief, federal student loan payments will restart after the pause expires Aug. 31 — unless it’s extended for the seventh time.

4 Money Moves to Make Before Baby Arrives
Adjust your budget now to account for child care expenses and any income loss during parental leave.

Avoid ATM Fees With These Debit Cards
Or use these strategies to avoid ATM fees with the debit card you already have.

Filed Under: Liz's Blog Tagged With: debit cards, first-time car buyers, inflation, student loan borrowers

Thursday’s need-to-know money news

October 24, 2019 By Liz Weston

Today’s top story: Will you get what Social Security promises. Also in the news: 3 things to do when you get a salary increase, 4 winter wellness experiences you can book with points, and using teen debit cards to teach your kids real-world lessons about money.

Will You Get What Social Security Promises?
Your estimate may not always be accurate.

3 Things to Do When You Get a Salary Increase
Making the most of it.

4 Winter Wellness Experiences You Can Book With Points
Making the winter months tolerable.

Teen debit cards: A real-world way to teach your kids about money
Real-world responsibility.

Filed Under: Liz's Blog Tagged With: debit cards, reward points, salary increases, Social Security, Social Security estimates, teenagers and money, winter wellness experiences

Tuesday’s need-to-know money news

March 6, 2018 By Liz Weston

Today’s top story: How to guard your cash from debit card fraud. Also in the news: How good credit can open doors when renting your first apartment, how to prepare for the inevitable stock market crash, and when to write up a financial agreement with your partner.

Debit Card Fraud Still Rising; Here’s How to Guard Your Cash

When Renting Your First Place, Good Credit Can Open Doors
Don’t let your score determine your options.

Will the Stock Market Crash? Yes. Here’s What to Do Now
Taking preventative action.

When and How to Write Up a Financial Agreement With Your Partner
Taking a big step.

Filed Under: Liz's Blog Tagged With: apartment renting, couples and money, Credit, debit card fraud, debit cards, financial agreements, stock market, tips

Monday’s need-to-know money news

December 11, 2017 By Liz Weston

Today’s top story: 5 ways to reduce credit card interest. Also in the news: Holiday hosting tips to be safe, holiday tipping guide, and the pros and cons of using debit vs. credit cards.

5 Ways to Reduce Credit Card Interest
Escaping the interest trap.

Holiday Hosting Tips to Be Safe, Insurance If You’re Sorry
What’s covered under your homeowner’s insurance.

Holiday Tipping Guide: Whom and How Much
Showing appreciation.

Pros and Cons of Using Debit Vs. Credit Cards
Differences to keep in mind.

Filed Under: Liz's Blog Tagged With: credit card interest, Credit Cards, debit cards, holiday entertaining, holiday tipping, homeowners insurance

Thursday’s need-to-know money news

September 7, 2017 By Liz Weston

Today’s top story: Americans favor debit over credit for their go-to card. Also in the news: How to choose a cash-back credit card, how to get an SBA disaster loan for your business, and the costly mistake people make when using debit cards.

Americans Favor Debit Over Credit for Their Go-To Card
The results are in.

How to Choose a Cash-Back Credit Card
What you should look for.

How to Get an SBA Disaster Loan for Your Business
Help after Harvey.

One-quarter of people make this costly mistake when using debit cards
Are you one of them?

Filed Under: Liz's Blog Tagged With: cash back credit card, Credit Cards, debit cards, disaster loans, SBA

Fraud and more fraud

March 31, 2015 By Liz Weston

Identity theft conceptA few days ago I called American Express because I wanted them to send us a new Bluebird card, since we hadn’t been able to find the prepaid card we used in Europe.

It turns out someone else used a fraudulent card with our number at an ATM last month, twice, each time withdrawing 50 euros.

We’d used the card since getting back, so we know it hadn’t been left behind. The thief had not only the card number but the PIN, so we suspect a skimmer was used to capture the information while we were abroad and the bad guys only recently decided to use it.

I’m delighted to say that, after a few false starts, I finally found an Amex employee who knew what she was doing, and the purloined amount was restored to a freshly-issued card.

Today, I got a letter that one of our credit card accounts had been frozen because of suspicious activity. It turns out someone impersonating me had called in to change our address to one in Winnetka, a nearby neighborhood in Los Angeles. Fortunately, Capital One froze the account before she could misuse it. We’ll have to be without a card for a few days while a new one is sent to us, but that’s the extent of our inconvenience.

These incidents underscored for me why it’s so much better to use credit cards (and the right prepaid card) in a world full of identity theft. If these thieves had gotten hold of my debit card, they could have drained our bank account and we’d be waiting to get the money back while transactions bounced right and left. That wait could be protracted if your financial institution questions whether fraud really occurred. With credit cards, you aren’t required to pay the disputed amount until the issuer completes its investigation.

Our recent brushes with fraud also underscore how important it is that Americans get the chip-and-PIN technology used in Europe and much of the rest of the world. Credit card issuers and retailers are in the process of transitioning slowly to this much more secure standard, starting with cards that have both a computer chip and the old-fashioned magnetic stripe. But the sooner we get to cards that must be used with a PIN for purchases, the better.

Some issuers publicly worry that we Americans will have a hard adapting to the new technology, which is absurd. It’s no harder to use a chip-and-PIN machine at a checkout register than it is to use an ATM. You stick your card in the little slot at the bottom of the checkout terminal, punch in your four-digit number and you’re done. And you’re also done with the vast majority of account takeover fraud.

Filed Under: Liz's Blog Tagged With: account takeover, chip and PIN, credit card fraud, Credit Cards, debit cards, Identity Theft, prepaid cards

  • Page 1
  • Page 2
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Search

Copyright © 2025 · Ask Liz Weston 2.0 On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in