Member Center
Identity Theft Guide
Know your (liability) limits
The Electronic Fund Transfer Act and the Fair Credit Billing Act are among the federal laws protecting consumers from liability if they've been victimized by credit card or banking fraud.
In many cases your liability is limited to the first $50 of loss, but that depends on the type of account and how quickly you report the problem.
Here's a brief overview of what you should know about your potential liability.
Automated Teller Machine (ATM) Cards:
If a thief withdraws money from a cash machine using your ATM card, your maximum liability is $50 if you report your card lost or stolen within two business days of discovering the loss (not within two days of the transaction). If you report the loss within 60 days, your maximum exposure is $500. Wait more than 60 days and you could be liable for all the money the thief obtained using your ATM card, plus other charges, such as fees for bounced checks.
Checks:
State laws govern whether you'd be held responsible if a lost or stolen check were used in a forgery. In most cases you probably won't be held liable for losses. However, bank customers generally are responsible for paying "reasonable" attention to their accounts and for protecting them against misuse. "A bank may refuse to reimburse you for a forged check if it believes you were negligent," says FDIC attorney Mark Mellon. "Negligence may include failing to safeguard your checks, filling them out in a way that would be easy to alter, or not notifying the bank about a loss in a timely manner." Among the ways to protect yourself:
Look at your bank statement within a month of receiving it and immediately notify the bank of any suspicious or unauthorized transactions.
Credit Cards:
Under federal law, the most you'd owe for unauthorized charges to your credit card is $50 per card. You owe nothing if you report the problem before charges are made.
Debit Cards:
These cards can be used to pay for purchases out of your checking account but without writing a check. There are two types of debit cards - an "on-line" card that requires a personal identification number (PIN), and an "off-line" card where no PIN is needed as an ID. Many consumers think of a debit card (and its liability) as being comparable to a credit card because both can be used at cash registers or to order products over the phone. Until recently, however, consumer liability for a lost or stolen debit card was comparable to an ATM card (see left), which may be far higher than that of a credit card ($50 maximum loss). Consumer groups and members of Congress complained about off-line cards in particular because, without requiring a PIN, these cards are more susceptible to fraud. VISA and MasterCard recently announced voluntary changes that currently put your maximum loss from a missing debit card at $50, the same as for credit cards. Contact your card issuer for more details. Legislation also is before Congress that would impose this same $50 limit by law, to ensure the continuation of this protection.
Stored-Value Cards:
These cards are loaded with a set dollar value and can be used to pay for small-dollar purchases. A stored-value card essentially is electronic cash. Accordingly, your loss is equal to the amount of money on the card
Have fun
An Excuse to Celebrate
World Television Day
Okay, so this is technically a European holiday, but we Americans love TV too. Watch the tube as much as you want today in celebration. TV listings and more »
Best of Dayton
You Decide What's the Best
Best Barbecue Restaurant [poll]
Here's where you get to tell the world what you think. Every week you get to vote on the best that the Dayton area has to offer in entertainment, restaurants, recreation & and a few other bizarro categories.
Voting in this category ends on Nov. 24.
We have REVISED our official rules »
Colleges
Find Local College Events
University of Dayton
- Fourth annual Citizens of the World Exhibition at ArtStreet
- Friday Film Series at ArtStreet
- The Dan Rivers Acoustic Open Mic Show at Bargos Grill
Sinclair Community College
- The Elderly Brothers at J-Alans
- The Sailing, Russian Tombstones and The Audible Influence at Canal Street
- WROU 'Old Skool' dance party at Gilly's
Wright State University
Things to Do
Find Local Events
Check out the hottest fashions at Ebony Fashion Fair [things to do]
International fashion flair will rock Dayton a week earlier than usual. The Ebony Fashion Fair, a longtime day-after-Thanksgiving tradition, catwalks into the Dayton Convention Center on Friday, Nov. 21. Tickets are $25 to $30. The traveling fashion show is expected to raise $10,000 to $12,000 for National Council of Negro Women programs. More »
What's happening this week
- Mothergrove at Peach's Grill
- Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra with Violinist Vadim Gluzman at Schuster Performing
- Auntie Mame at Dayton Playhouse
- The Cover of Life at the Dayton
- Third Friday Fling in Yellow Springs
- 103.9 The X and Live Nation Present Staind, Seether and Papa Roach in Concert at Hara Arena
- Party Crashers at BW3s in Englewood for the OSU-Michigan game
Search Events
Find Local Events
What's happening this week
- Mothergrove at Peach's Grill
- Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra with Violinist Vadim Gluzman at Schuster Performing
- Auntie Mame at Dayton Playhouse
- The Cover of Life at the Dayton
- Third Friday Fling in Yellow Springs
- 103.9 The X and Live Nation Present Staind, Seether and Papa Roach in Concert at Hara Arena
- Party Crashers at BW3s in Englewood for the OSU-Michigan game
Movies
Movies & Showtimes
'Twilight'[movies]
If Buffy the Vamipre Slayer has taught us nothing else, it's that teens, vampires and love affairs make for good entertainment. In "Twilight" new girl Bella is swept up in a passionate and dangerous romance with Edward, a mysterious teen vampire. More »
Find Showtimes
Find Movie Times
New Movies in Theaters
Restaurants
Find Restaurants
Random Top-Rated Restaurants
Click restaurants to add your rating/review.
Food & More
Local Dining
Amelia's Bistro, Bellbrook, restaurant review [review]
Call it comfort food, gourmet style. From crab raviolis with vanilla lobster sauce, to a hand-cut and brined pork chop served with a fig jam, to a simply "Big-Ass Cake" that's a chocolate lover's dream, Amelia's has the potential to become a destination restaurant — worth the drive to Bellbrook. More »
Random Top-Rated Restaurants
Click restaurants to add your rating/review.
ActiveDayton.com: Contact Us | Advertise | Our Partners | Feedbot | Find our free weekly magazine | Sitemap | RSS
Copyright © 2008 Cox Ohio Publishing, Dayton, Ohio, USA. All rights reserved.
By using ActiveDayton.com, you accept the terms of our visitor agreement and privacy policy.
