Comment by thechao
15 hours ago
> The big difference is that with a debit card, it's your money that is hit by fraud.
I kind of disagree. I think what's happened is the bank would prefer you to believe that. Imagine I kept my money at the bank, and deposited $10000 with the teller. Immediately afterward a robber follows in and steals that $10000 from the teller. Does the bank say "oh no Mr. TheChao! A robber stole your $10000!". I mean, no? The bank got robbed. Just because the bank's digital security is more tied one-to-one to dollars and its easier for a robber to steal from "my till" doesn't mean it was me who was robbed. It's the bank's job to stop that.
This was also the subject of a brief sketch on That Mitchell and Webb Look:
> Bank official: Sit down Mr. Coleman, I'm, I'm afraid I've got bad news about your account.
> Mr. Coleman: Really?
> Bank official: I'm very sorry to say that someone's stolen your identity.
> Mr. Coleman: Oh God! Do you know who it was?
> Bank official: Well -- they said they were you, but uh--
> Mr. Coleman: Of course. So, um, what happened?
> Bank official: Well it was on the bank website, someone logged in, and committed identity theft electronically.
> Mr. Coleman: I see. Did they take anything else?
> Bank official: Uh, no.
> Mr. Coleman: Oh good, so all the money's still there...
> Bank official: What?
> Mr. Coleman: Well: it's just my identity that's gone -- none of your money?
> Bank official: Well no, they did -- they, they, emptied your account. It's identity theft, they took all the money.
> Mr. Coleman: That sounds more like a bank robbery.
[continued] -- see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS9ptA3Ya9E for the full skit.
Just as a handy thing to chuckle over and then link others to, if the topic comes up again.
Eh when you deposit money with a teller, it gets added to your account, which is in physical terms probably just a big storage and a database who has how much.
But in the case of debit card, the card ties the money to your account. It is actually that.
It's as if someone would steal from a personal safe at the bank.
Except that you have strong statutory rights and commercial agreements between your bank and the card networks making it very likely that you’ll be made whole.
> likely
> will
Which is why the credit card is still the better option. Especially given that the max liability on a credit card is always $50 if caught within the first 60 days, while the max liability on a debit card is $50 only if caught within the first two days, then up to $500 if reported after up to 60 days.
They may post a provisional credit when I report the fraud on the debit card or they can wait up to 10 days to do so. With a credit card, no money has left my account and I get the final say on whether I want to part ways with my real money. If the bank really wants to fuck me over by saying it's not fraud, I get to make it as unprofitable as possible for them, which includes forcing them to sue me if they really want the money.
I will take the ding to my credit report and a lawsuit over actual money taken directly out of my account any day.
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