Don Winter wrote:

> The risk of using PayPal or any debit card is small, but when disaster
> strikes it will be a nightmare.  If you must use such a device, have
> a separate account with as little money in it as you can get by with.
> True credit cards pose no real risk.

Other than making the credit card companies rich if you don't pay them
off on time every month!  At 24 or more percent, they well _ought_ to
have some kind of recourse to fraudulent transactions.

> The problem is not the technology but the laws and rules governing
> recourse.  This is why the Nigerian junk email scam works so well.
> Perhaps, someday they will offer the same protection as the credit
> card companies

It may also have to do with the policies of your bank.  We found that
since our debit card is actually considered to be a VISA card, they
afford us the same protection as if it _were_ a credit card.

Case in point: last May, we were traveling in the southwest and bought
Diesel Fuel for the company truck en-route home from Arizona.  The
place we stopped had sales staff about 1 step DOWN from a chicken in
mentality and as a result, managed to double-charge the credit card for
the same fuel purchase.

We tried to resolve the problem with the dealer directly, to no avail,
and finally went to the bank, who went to bat for us, and so far as I
know, they finally "ate" the erroneous charge as their way of protecting
us against such fraud.

If you do use a debit card, you may wish to check with your bank as to
what their policies are in these matters.

We do a lot of traveling and use the card extensively (dozens of times
each month), and so far, other than this one experience, there's not
been any other negative experiences that would tend to make me
re-consider doing so.

Faithfully,

Richard Schneider - Schneider Pipe Organs, Inc.
Kenney, IL
http://www.schneiderpipeorgans.com/