In April, the security hole was announced in the general media. As of today, there are still hundreds of commerce websites that could fall victim to credit card theft. Some of the online shopping systems are freeware free to download and use at your own risk. With freeware, no publisher is available to update the online storeowners regarding potential problems. Most credit card companies provide ways of tracking credit card theft and fraud.
Federal law places limits on the credit card holder s liability.
With the advent of Debit cards, however, this changes things. A stolen Debit card may cause the cardholder to be liable for all purchases up to the point that it is reported stolen, regardless of the dollar amount. In the case of debit card number theft, the cardholder may not even be aware that her card is being used until her checking account is empty. Most large businesses have custom designed web shopping software that does not commonly fall prey to this kind of error, however even the big online auctions have had problems. The best road to take is to do your research before buying online and when in doubt, most companies will also accept fax or phone orders.