According to recent statistics of FICO, the company that created the credit scoring system used by banks and others to measure credit worthiness, debit card fraud increased by 10% in 2017 which came on the heels of an even more astounding 70% increase in 2016.
Unfortunately the problem is going to get worse before it gets better.   A large part of the problem has been the failure of many companies to switch over to the more secure EMV chip credit and debit cards as required by industry guidelines that do not carry the weight of law. While the date for retailers and ATMs to switch to EMV chip credit and debit cards has long passed, the date for gas pumps to implement EMV chip credit and debt card technology has been extended until 2020.  This gives identity thieves plenty of opportunities to install cheap and easy to obtain skimmers on ATMs, gas pumps and the card processing equipment of non-complying retailers and ATMs (of which there are many) to steal credit and debit card numbers to be used for fraudulent purposes.
However, the problem is much worse with debit cards.  The holder of a credit card used for fraudulent purposes cannot be assessed more than $50 for such use and most credit card companies charge nothing. However, the potential liability of a person whose debit card has been compromised can reach his or her entire bank account tied to the card if the card owner does not report the crime promptly and even if the card owner does report the theft promptly, the debit card owner’s access to his or her own bank account is frozen while the bank investigates the crime.
TIPS
Consumers should refrain from using their debit cards for anything other than an ATM card. Use a credit card for all of your card purchases to achieve greater consumer protection.  In addition, you should regularly monitor your bank account tied to your debit card in order to discover as soon as possible if fraudulent use of your debit card has occurred so that you can report it to the bank and limit your liability.
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