Michael O'Hair

I had a First Tech Credit Union Visa credit card and got a letter about the Heartland hack. They put a hold on my card and issued a new one. Note that I was not liable for any fradulent charges (which never happened). It was a very well done procedure.

Debit cards are a whole different matter. They are a pipeline to your bank account and banks have repeatedly shown that if you get hacked or your card gets stolen, it's tough bananas.

I do a little on-line buying and use a cash card with a very low limit. ( Note that Paypal has a fairly brain dead "change my card" web site.) A low-limit credit card will do as well. Probably better.

The point to all this is simple: keep track of your purchases. This was hard for me to learn, but if I can do it, anyone can. And do it on paper.

As the economy worsens, there will be more credit card fraud.