How to Protect Yourself From Big Bank-Card Hacks

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With hackers stealing millions of credit and debit card numbers with seeming impunity from Target, Home Depot, and other retailers lately, it might seem as if there’s nothing the average consumer can do to protect themselves.

But you don’t have to rely on the security of Big Box retailers to shield you. With a couple of precautions, you can dramatically reduce the hassle and expense of a bank card breach if you are hit. Though you can’t guard against every scenario, a little op sec goes a long way.

Use Prepaid or Single-Use Cards for Ecommerce

There’s no liability for you when your bank card is ripped off and used fraudulently (as long as you report bogus transactions in a reasonable timeframe). But that doesn’t mean that having your card stolen is hassle-free. If you have automatic card payments set up for Netflix or your gym membership, you’ll have to cancel the card data for each account and update it when the bank issues you new digits.

Avoid the nuisance by using one card for recurring subscription charges, and a prepaid or one-time card number for shopping—especially around the holidays when the risk of a breach is much higher. Although it’s always possible that Netflix will get sprung as well, most high-profile card breaches have involved restaurants, retailers or card processors and the live transmission of unprotected data, as opposed to stored data that is, or should be, encrypted.

Single-use, or disposable, credit card numbers are tied to your real card number, but can prevent that number from being exposed if a site is hacked. Citibank, Bank of America and Discover all offer disposable card numbers. Prepaid cards, on the other hand, are independent of your real credit card account and allow you to feed money into an account at will, to maintain whatever balance you need to meet your shopping needs. If that number gets stolen, the card is easily replaced without affecting your main credit card account.

Never Use Debit Cards Except to Withdraw Funds at Bank ATM

With a credit card, you can always dispute fraudulent charges before you pay them. That’s not the case with a debit card, which is tied directly to your bank account. You can still get reimbursement for fraud on a debit card, but it will probably be well after the fact: hackers can drain your funds before you know the card number has been stolen.

So treat your debit card with extra security. Don’t use it at gas pumps or other spots prone to skimming. In fact, don’t use it for payments at all. Just treat it as an ATM card — and even then, watch out for covert PIN-capturing cameras or skimming devices affixed to a cash machine. Use debt cards only in bank ATM machines, not at in-store and in-casino ATMs where hackers and thieves can more easily tamper with the machines.