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Are customers really held accountable for ATM fraud? I have found credit card fraud to be handled well by my bank (USAA). The primary reason I use a credit card

Are customers really held accountable for ATM fraud? I have found credit card fraud to be handled well by my bank (USAA). The primary reason I use a credit card is because I am not sure how ATM/check card fraud is handled.

meowface 12y ago
I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure all US banks will take the hit and reimburse the customer for this kind of fraud. Even in cases where it's the customer's own mistakes or ignorance that leads to the card being compromised they'll do that; they better do it when it's their own (or another bank's) ATMs that have been rigged with spying equipment.
lostcolony 12y ago
Credit card fraud has a LOT of federally mandated protections, giving you a lengthy window of time in which to report it, capping the maximum amount you're liable for to $50 (I believe), etc. Debit cards tend to have fewer protections, though they still have some. And because the money has already been taken out, you can be more detrimentally effected; the bank has to investigate and decide to give you your money back, basically, which takes time (and hopefully you have an uncompromised account if you need to pay bills or whathaveyou) whereas with credit cards the bank has to investigate and decide it's not actually fraudulent behavior and re-charge you (not sure how all that works though). Just plain inertia works in your favor when it comes to credit cards.
- oasisbob 12y ago
  Debit cards have the same federally mandated protections. In addition to the required liability rules, VISA and MasterCard both add on their own bits which reduce the liability to $0 under most circumstances, for credit and debit cards.
pessimizer 12y ago
>I am not sure how ATM/check card fraud is handled. In my personal experience, through a couple of phone calls. I can't imagine that credit card fraud could be any easier than the experience that I had with debit fraud. edit: http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0213-lost-or-stolen-credit-atm-and-debit-cards http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0213-lost-or-stolen-cre... tl;dr: 1) Maximum liability is $50 if you report a loss or theft within 2 days of being aware of the loss or theft, $500 afterwards, until 60 days after you receive the statement with the disputed debits on it. 2) Whether or not your card was lost or stolen (or cloned), 60 days after you receive the statement with the disputed charges on it, your liability becomes unlimited. summary: Report loss or theft within 2 days, check your statements for crap charges at least once every 2 months, and your maximum liability is $50.

meowface 12y ago

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure all US banks will take the hit and reimburse the customer for this kind of fraud. Even in cases where it's the customer's own mistakes or ignorance that leads to the card being compromised they'll do that; they better do it when it's their own (or another bank's) ATMs that have been rigged with spying equipment.

lostcolony 12y ago

Credit card fraud has a LOT of federally mandated protections, giving you a lengthy window of time in which to report it, capping the maximum amount you're liable for to $50 (I believe), etc. Debit cards tend to have fewer protections, though they still have some. And because the money has already been taken out, you can be more detrimentally effected; the bank has to investigate and decide to give you your money back, basically, which takes time (and hopefully you have an uncompromised account if you need to pay bills or whathaveyou) whereas with credit cards the bank has to investigate and decide it's not actually fraudulent behavior and re-charge you (not sure how all that works though). Just plain inertia works in your favor when it comes to credit cards.

oasisbob 12y ago
Debit cards have the same federally mandated protections. In addition to the required liability rules, VISA and MasterCard both add on their own bits which reduce the liability to $0 under most circumstances, for credit and debit cards.

pessimizer 12y ago

>I am not sure how ATM/check card fraud is handled. In my personal experience, through a couple of phone calls. I can't imagine that credit card fraud could be any easier than the experience that I had with debit fraud. edit: http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0213-lost-or-stolen-credit-atm-and-debit-cards http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0213-lost-or-stolen-cre... tl;dr: 1) Maximum liability is $50 if you report a loss or theft within 2 days of being aware of the loss or theft, $500 afterwards, until 60 days after you receive the statement with the disputed debits on it. 2) Whether or not your card was lost or stolen (or cloned), 60 days after you receive the statement with the disputed charges on it, your liability becomes unlimited. summary: Report loss or theft within 2 days, check your statements for crap charges at least once every 2 months, and your maximum liability is $50.