ATMs Redux - Why I Don’t Use My Debit Card

In a previous post about Automatic Theft Machines I commented on the worrisome rise in skimming with these machines.

Now, to add to our pain, we should be concerned about gas station pumps, according to NBC. Take a look at the picture of the device - makes me wonder how they set it up without inside help.

The article goes on to discuss the rising crime rate from debit card theft. Once these folks pluck your card number and PIN, they can clean out your bank account in no time flat. Unlike credit card fraud, where the bank removes your liability after $50, people are reporting a struggle to get their bank accounts credited after all the cash has been extracted.

So, let’s see, ATMs, airline check-in machines, and now gas pumps.

I’d decided after the Hannaford breach that we would no longer use our debit card unless standing inside the bank. And even that is not risk free from skimming.