Debit Cards

I've heard many times that debit cards aren't as safe as credit cards. I was reading a Reader's Digest article the other day about debit cards and it had a lot of personal horror stories about using a debit card and some of them are pretty bad. The bottom line advice from the article: NEVER buy anything online using a debit card and NEVER let your debit card out of sight when paying for something (like at a restaurant). Debit cards have no protection like a credit card and even if your bank says they will guarantee your funds are safe using a debit card, more often than not when it comes down to it they don't back up their promises. Credit cards are relatively safe to use because you aren't liable for someone fraudulently using your credit card. On the other hand, debit cards take the money directly out of your account and banks/credit unions have no legal obligation to cover losses from fraudulent withdrawals there. There are also machines out there that can swipe your debit card and make a copy in a matter of seconds so it's VERY easy for someone to steal your card. Here's a similar article to read along the same lines outlining 10 disadvantages of debit cards. And another. Yet another. There are a lot of these types of articles. Just sharing some words of wisdom because I know some of you use debit cards quite a bit.