Experts urge holiday shoppers to use credit instead of debit cards when buying online

InvestigateTV - The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and countless experts all offer the same advice when it comes to holiday shopping – choose credit over debit.

If a criminal steals your credit card information, they are not able to wipe out your checking account – which can happen if your debit card is compromised.

Credit cards also usually offer additional protections that debit cards do not.

“Even if your financial institution covers theft on your debit cards, it still immediately comes out of your account if there is fraud. And it could take weeks, even longer to get that fixed,” the Virginia Credit Union financial coach Cherry Dale said.

Dale explained that credit cards are protected under the Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA), but debit cards are not. Only some debit card issuers may voluntarily offer protections because they are not required to do so.

If you don’t receive what you paid for, the FCBA allows you to dispute the charge on your credit card as a billing error.

For more information on the difference between credit and debit cards, visit this FTC article.

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