European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 22, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday March 22 2007 Star Sand s tripes Page 13 your Money How to protect your debit card from fraud by my Mcqueen the Wall Street journal debit card use is soaring but a series of recent scams highlights the growing risk of fraud to con Sumers who use the method of pay ment thieves Are always inventing new ways to steal Consumers account information whether they use debit or credit cards but debit cards typically put Consumers at greater financial risk because they offer less Legal Protection than credit cards in the event of loss and because debit cards Access funds directly from your Bank account the Money is missing while you sort out any theft which could mean bounced checks late fees and other problems Consumers who like the convenience of debit cards can take Steps to protect themselves these include keeping an Eye on your card if possible when paying at places like restaurants and Gas stations suspicious looking arms usually unbranded machines in convenience stores and the like can also be targets for scams you should safeguard your pin including shielding your hands when entering the numbers because of other types of fraud that involve stealing your pin number using hidden cameras and then taking your card Many consumer groups simply recommend paying with credit cards because these typically offer the greatest Legal protections in the event of an unauthorized charge and generally limit consumer losses to under Federal Law a net a a scary Type of Fred stand debit card fraud underscores the for Consumers to be Vij Plank watch Nee where scrutinize ams Antonft real ektor possible tampering such As tape pc Loose Eaimec v t s s a 1 Hobs f m consumer say credit cards offer better Legal safer card use the Fri rooting Are Sorte tips gleaned Niclaw enforcement and Security experts card issuers advocate for is Fig debit Andl credit cards More safely Check for hidden Dune Irb Pip eople look tog Over your shoulder when entering pins shield Yotti fingers on tiie Keypad Check Bank and credit statements regularly close compromised accounts immediately change pins order and  if you suspect credit fraud notify credit bureaus and order a fraud Alert or Security freeze on accounts to help prevent further fraud and identity theft for Cheek ing accounts order a free annual report from chef systems 18q04289623  sitcom dont use unbranded or suspicious looking arms and car readers Corner grocery stores convenience stores and Public locations outside Al Olben Jdonte or others use or enter your delay reporting errors even Small ones to financial institutions dont use debit cards for Large purchases to preserve your maa mum consumer protections use credit cards instead Dort to unsolicited email requests for account and pin numbers Ever the Wall Street journal by contrast Banks policies on debit card protections can vary often depending on How soon you report any loss to the institution and whether you used your Signa Ture some Banks and card issuers have beefed up their consume a Protection guarantees though these can have exceptions when push conies to shove you have better protections with a cred it card than you will Ever have with a debit card regardless of what the Banks say with their ads says Jay Foley co executive director of the identity theft resource Center a nonprofit group in san Diego which would you rather do argue with a credit card that a charge is erroneous or argue with the Bank to put Money Back in your account debit card use has jumped about 20 percent a year since 1996 according to the Federal Reserve and transactions using debit cards now outnumber those using credit cards Banks have been pushing debit card use which topped trillion last year mainly to take Market share away from payments for Lowe priced items previously made with Cash or checks but debit card fraud also is growing to million in 2005 up 21 percent from a year earlier according to a recent report by pulse Eft associates owned by Morgan Stanley a recent High profile theft at Sev eral Stop shop markets in Rhode Island has drawn attention to the practice of skimming in which account data from cards magnetic stripes Are surreptitiously copied and later used to create counterfeit cards for years skimming has been a problem when paying at establish ments such As restaurants hotels and Gas stations where attendants swipe cards out of sight from customers but in the Rhode Island Inci Dent thieves stole customers data in Plain View by replacing Check out Lane car readers with bogus devices of their own four men have been arrested in the Case at citizens Bank one of the Banks defrauded according to the affidavit at least was stolen from customers accounts the Bank says the funds were re stored in compliance with Federal Law mounting concerns Over card fraud have prompted some restau rant chains to try out new cashier systems Hooters of America inc and Legal sea foods Are introducing car dreading systems similar to those used in Europe that can be brought to a customers table by the waitstaff both to prevent skim Ming and for convenience and Ruby tuesday inc is launching a new Point Sale checkout system that wont store any creditor debit card information a precaution meant to prevent thieves from obtaining data by hacking Orother Means credit cards Are regulated by Federal fair credit Laws which generally limit consumer responsibility for losses to for unauthorized use Many card issuers waive even that moreover fraudulent charges Are the Banks and the retailers headache not yours but debit cards Are regulated by the Law mat governs electronic fund transfers while losses Are limited to for unauthorized use reported within two business Days any losses reported after two Days Are limited to if you report a loss More than 60 Days after the Bank transmits a statement that includes an unauthorized funds Transfer the Bank Doest have to reimburse you As a result card holders can be liable for losses up to the entire balance in the account and their maximum overdraft line of credit mondays Market summary Exchange rates indexes 52 High Low name last net chg Ltd chg chg 52wk chg 1279593 1068332 Dow Jones industrials 1222617 521142 413472 Dow Jones transportation 479461 50199 38097 Dow Jones utilities 48440 946362 770811 nose composite 909096 217989 180065 amex Index 211139 253142 201278 Nash a composite 239441 146157 121929 140206 87089 71053 83257 83001 66858 Russell 2000 78705 1482876 1224990 do Wilshire 5000 1420913 nose most Active or More name vol 00 last chg amex 190 53 86 114 08 34 Nash a Sec str forum Host hotels Geneles Pfizer Motorola Exxon by cd sep Qwist pm inc 650063 439493 351238 261806 257526 234736 227692 223903 218800 201709 1515 782 2688 3467 2536 1829 7110 3314 880 3758 most Active or More name vol 00 last chg Spur i Shrek nya up engy up incl Prusha Rqn Semi her oils vat Djina diam on2 tech up malls 843475 530402 214210 159493 123067 115564 66311 49764 47566 14020 7825 5729 3525 5490 3394 14244 12228 135 3765 102 15 most Active or More name vol 00 last chg Nash loot Intel Microsoft Cisco Sun Micro Oracle Apple inc qua com Sirius Al matl 861845 583315 447744 357616 303806 285278 249945 229154 228534 213704 4327 1911 04 2783 2630 622 02 1718 9113 4291 77 329 1847 02 key defense stocks  Armor holdings 18 6395 computer sciences general general hams corp Allied signal l3 communications Lockheed Martin Northrop Raythelon Rockwell into Seq a corp Texas instruments text Ron 100 100 140 148 96 116 16 19 20 17 17 20 18 21 11 4721 8511 9897 7393 5330 6100 11966 3122 06 1 22 United key Mutual funds name Nav Ltd chg ret Fidelity invest Greco 6876 14 Fidelity invest Granc 3079 u Fidelity spartan  4981 7 Putnam funds a Erlna p 1980 8 Amer Century inv Ultra 2700 4 Fidelity invest Amorso 16j2 Fidelity invest ovre a 4500 Fidelity invest us i 1094 01 aim investments a const p 2627 Frnk a Sec Para 3936 aim investments a Charta p 1545 2168 26 Fidelity advisor 2981 5 Fidelity advisor 3565 Putnam funds a glib qty p 1092 a 6202 Fidelity advisor 2253 1734 1275 01 Putnam funds a gig vap 1227 a military rates japanese yen March South korean won March 21 91900 euro costs March Dollar buys March British Pound March commercial rates Bahrain British Canada China Denmark Egypt Hong Kong Hungary Israel Japan yen 11722 Kuwait Norway Philippines Poland saudi Arabia Singapore South Korea won 94251 Switzerland Thailand baht 3280 Turkey new military Exchange rates Are those available to customers at military Bank ing facilities in the country of issuance for Japan South Korea Germany the Netherlands and the United kingdom for no local currency Exchange rates in purchasing British pounds in Germa Check with your local military Bank ing facility commercial rates Are inter Bank rates provided for reference when buying currency a figures Are foreign currencies to one Dollar except for the British Pound which is represented in dollars Pound and the euro which is dollars euro precious metals new York merc close Gold Silver 513147 interest rates prime rate825 discount rate625 Federal funds Market rate 525 3month bill503 30year bond472 sources the associated press Bank of America and sensibility mkt Money tip of the Day tax deductions for the self employed by Chuck Myers act several tax benefits accompany running a Home based business especially when it comes to business deductions but the rules governing Home based business deduction Arent Al ways easy to understand if you own and operate a business out the Home and would like to learn about self employed tax deductions these web Sites might prove fruitful Bank Atesom covers general requirements for Home office deductions and where to claim costs on its site the internal Revenue services site provides a Range of tax and filing information for the self employed  site  features five key tax guidelines for a Home based business Smarto Newcom covers the criteria for making Home office tax deductions Startup nation  discusses How write offs work note to readers Tom Philpotts military update column will return to the your Money Page soon