Are there better protections against fraud when using a credit card versus a debit card?
Robert Schroeder: My understanding is that both credit and debit cards are protected by the same VISA/Mastercard rules and Regulation E. The Fair Credit Billing Act provides protection for consumers against unauthorized or incorrect credit card charges. The Electronic Funds Transfer Act provides protection for consumers against unauthorized or incorrect debit card charges. The protections are similar for unauthorized use but different for loss or theft of the card. The following information comes from the Federal Reserve website (including debit cards). For transactions over the Internet, it may be a good idea to use a separate credit card and monitor that card statement very carefully for unauthorized charges. One common fraud is to place small unauthorized charges on consumers’ accounts in the hope that many consumers will not notice them and will not file disputes with their card issuers.
