Have you ever been a victim of debit card fraud? If so, then you probably know that there isn’t much protecting you from it happening again.

Compared to credit cards, debit cards are much less secure. For one, credit cards give you a line of credit. Debit cards, on the other hand, is directly linked to an account with actual money it in. Rather than paying bills for the money you used each month, money is immediately taken out of your account each time you use your debit card.

If your debit card gets stolen, and you don’t realize till later, there is a very small chance that you will get the fraudulent charges back. When you make a purchase with your debit card, you are imputing a PIN number rather than signing for your purchases. This makes it hard for banks to track down fraudulent charges since there is no definite record that the person who made those charges wasn’t you.

Most cards that are from big networks such as Visa and MasterCard come with zero liability in case your card is stolen. But there’s a catch – usually the card company takes a long time to investigate your case. While that’s going on, you probably won’t see any of your money till the bank figures everything out.

There are some things you can do to protect your debit card. First, when the cashier asks you, debit or credit, you can say credit, even if you are using your debit card. This is even better since you won’t have to pay the debit fee that some cards come with. Also, this makes it easier to track down since there is proof of you being there to sign for your purchase.

Bottom line, you should provide the most protection for your debit card. By keeping track of all your transactions, and making safe purchases in stores and online, you can help yourself from being a victim of debit card fraud or theft.