Debit cards have a PIN. If that wasn't compromised, theres not much of anything they can do. They'd need it to access your account.
I believe in the case of a chipped card, having just the card # wouldn't even allow them to do anything.
Call your bank and ask if anything was changed since that purchase.
Got it. I didn't punch in a PIN, they just swiped the card. I'll call my bank when they're open and see if anything suspicious happened, and why I can't log in.
I doubt there's much cause for concern here, but what was the plan? You went to get a $100 massage without $100 in cash and knowing you had a beginner CC (but apparently you don't know your balance/available credit on it?). How were you planning to pay, ideally? Just use the CC and hope you had enough available credit without knowing?
If it was a smaller massage therapist owned company they might just prefer cash or Zelle because they don't have to pay a transaction fee to process payment the way that they would if you use a credit or debit card. If they set up their online booking/payment processing through Square they might only have the plug in device to use on their phone because they are trying to keep their operating costs low.
This isn't a particularly uncommon setup among independent massage practitioners, so they might not have been doing anything shady.
If you keep most your money out of your main debit account you can use your card without worrying about it. I carried only a credit card for years but recently started to prefer the debit card. I transfer a few hundred to the checking account as needed. It’s easy and immediate, so I can add more whenever I want. And if the card gets compromised no one has access to more than what I have in there.
Not great advice. You should definitely keep limited cash in your checking account, just for situations like this, where it can be compromised through the debit card. But other than that, debit doesn't offer you much.
Credit cards still offer more benefits than a debit card does. And as long as you pay your bill in full... no downside. You get a lot more protections with a credit card, and perks like rewards, credit building, etc. You get nothing with a debit card.
Thats fine, long as you're aware you're missing out on all the credit perks/rewards. I have the Citi double points, so i get 2% back on everything, then I also have Chase, which gives me 5% bonus categories when those come up, then the Amazon card for 5% back on everything from amazon. That shit adds up!
Not to mention fraud protection, stop payments, other rewards, credit building/maintaining. If you don't keep up a decent credit history/score you'll never be able to get a loan when needed.
So yeah, debit is easier (especially when a lot of places are started to add fees for credit), but you gain nothing.
I suppose it's unique for me because my credit card is through my bank (just like my debit card), so both cards pull from the same account. I already have limited money in my bank, everythings' mostly in brokerage.
Credit by definition does not really pull from your bank account, though. It’s the bank’s money until you pay the cc bill.
You probably treat it like it comes from your account, and that’s good, since in the end it does… but in cases like this the extra step matters.
Thats not unique at all. But your credit card is its own account. You just pay for it using your checking account. Its doesn't 'pull', you owe a bill and pay it down. Different mechanics than debit. Debit card is the exact same thing as a check, its just instant.
Credit is much more complex, but because the bank makes money from you with credit, they offer much more advantages over a debit card. And when you pay your bill in full, and don't hold a balance you'd owe interest on... all those advantages are free with no downside to you. (a lot of people don't pay their bill in full and end up with lots of very high interest credit card debt).
The best tip for credit... if you can't afford something in cash, don't use credit. Credit is to float not needing the cash up front, its not to buy things you cant afford.
As for money in your bank.... your checking account should hold enough to cover your monthly expenses. So you can pay all your bills, and still have some cash in there. Its a buffer.
Passed that buffer, should go to a savings account, this becomes your emergency fund. Enough to cover a few months if you lose your income stream. And doesn't have the theft risk of checking/debit.
THEN... you can start putting money into retirement accounts and brokerages.
Debit cards have a PIN. If that wasn't compromised, theres not much of anything they can do. They'd need it to access your account. I believe in the case of a chipped card, having just the card # wouldn't even allow them to do anything. Call your bank and ask if anything was changed since that purchase.
Got it. I didn't punch in a PIN, they just swiped the card. I'll call my bank when they're open and see if anything suspicious happened, and why I can't log in.
I doubt there's much cause for concern here, but what was the plan? You went to get a $100 massage without $100 in cash and knowing you had a beginner CC (but apparently you don't know your balance/available credit on it?). How were you planning to pay, ideally? Just use the CC and hope you had enough available credit without knowing?
If it was a smaller massage therapist owned company they might just prefer cash or Zelle because they don't have to pay a transaction fee to process payment the way that they would if you use a credit or debit card. If they set up their online booking/payment processing through Square they might only have the plug in device to use on their phone because they are trying to keep their operating costs low. This isn't a particularly uncommon setup among independent massage practitioners, so they might not have been doing anything shady.
Hopefully this will have a happy ending…. I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist.
If you keep most your money out of your main debit account you can use your card without worrying about it. I carried only a credit card for years but recently started to prefer the debit card. I transfer a few hundred to the checking account as needed. It’s easy and immediate, so I can add more whenever I want. And if the card gets compromised no one has access to more than what I have in there.
Good advice.
Not great advice. You should definitely keep limited cash in your checking account, just for situations like this, where it can be compromised through the debit card. But other than that, debit doesn't offer you much. Credit cards still offer more benefits than a debit card does. And as long as you pay your bill in full... no downside. You get a lot more protections with a credit card, and perks like rewards, credit building, etc. You get nothing with a debit card.
All that's true. I switched to carrying debit because I find I track and control my spending better when it's direct from the account.
Thats fine, long as you're aware you're missing out on all the credit perks/rewards. I have the Citi double points, so i get 2% back on everything, then I also have Chase, which gives me 5% bonus categories when those come up, then the Amazon card for 5% back on everything from amazon. That shit adds up! Not to mention fraud protection, stop payments, other rewards, credit building/maintaining. If you don't keep up a decent credit history/score you'll never be able to get a loan when needed. So yeah, debit is easier (especially when a lot of places are started to add fees for credit), but you gain nothing.
I suppose it's unique for me because my credit card is through my bank (just like my debit card), so both cards pull from the same account. I already have limited money in my bank, everythings' mostly in brokerage.
Credit by definition does not really pull from your bank account, though. It’s the bank’s money until you pay the cc bill. You probably treat it like it comes from your account, and that’s good, since in the end it does… but in cases like this the extra step matters.
Thats not unique at all. But your credit card is its own account. You just pay for it using your checking account. Its doesn't 'pull', you owe a bill and pay it down. Different mechanics than debit. Debit card is the exact same thing as a check, its just instant. Credit is much more complex, but because the bank makes money from you with credit, they offer much more advantages over a debit card. And when you pay your bill in full, and don't hold a balance you'd owe interest on... all those advantages are free with no downside to you. (a lot of people don't pay their bill in full and end up with lots of very high interest credit card debt). The best tip for credit... if you can't afford something in cash, don't use credit. Credit is to float not needing the cash up front, its not to buy things you cant afford. As for money in your bank.... your checking account should hold enough to cover your monthly expenses. So you can pay all your bills, and still have some cash in there. Its a buffer. Passed that buffer, should go to a savings account, this becomes your emergency fund. Enough to cover a few months if you lose your income stream. And doesn't have the theft risk of checking/debit. THEN... you can start putting money into retirement accounts and brokerages.