By John Campbell

Debit card fraud, especially of the high tech variety, is a growing risk for all of us. Luckily, there are a lot of things you can do to stay one step ahead of a potential thief out to plunder your bank accounts.

The first and most important step in protecting yourself is prevention. The most obvious way your debit card can be used against you is if your card is stolen. In case someone you know would ever steal your debit card, you should make sure to choose a personal identification number (PIN) that won’t be easily guessed. Your birthday or any other number associated with your personal information should never be used as a choice. The more random the number is, the better off you’ll be. Unfortunately, any thief can still run your card through a point-of-sale reader and have it processed as a credit card transaction. Making matters worse, not many cashiers even bother asking for ID when someone uses a debit card.

Even if your card isn’t stolen, your sensitive debit card information can be stolen by prying eyes. If you’re planning to use any ATM, make sure nobody is lurking around the machine for no apparent reason. If worse comes to worse and you can’t avoid doing an ATM transaction in close proximity to someone, hold your debit card with your account number concealed in the palm of your hand. Swipe the card and put it away quickly. If necessary, lean as close to the machine as possible, concealing the keypad in which you type in your PIN. Taking these few simple steps can protect your account from an “over the shoulder” variety of thief.

Avoiding high tech ATM theft may be a bit more difficult. Carefully inspect any ATM before use. Anything that looks out of place may very well be. Bulkier than usual card readers, covered up text or loose pamphlet holders may indicate that an ATM has been rigged to steal your account information with a simple swipe of your card. If you suspect any ATM has been rigged you’ll want to notify the ATM owner or call the 1-800 number listed on the ATM immediately. Taking these steps will help protect your account and the accounts of countless consumers.

Protecting your accounts from point-of-sale credit/debit card readers is a bit trickier than you might expect. When you swipe your debit card and type in your PIN you’ll have no idea if your PIN will be stored in the machine’s memory. If so, that data could wind up in the business’s computer network and a determined hacker or dishonest employee could retrieve your sensitive data. For maximum protection, simply avoid using a point-of-sale reader’s PIN pad and process the transaction as a credit card transaction. You’ll be required to sign a receipt for the transaction and the transaction will be listed as pending for 1 or 2 business days. As a rule of thumb, only use a point-of-sale reader’s PIN pad if you need to get cash back and you’ll be helping secure your attached bank accounts most of the time.

When you receive any receipt for a debit card transaction processed as a credit card transaction, make sure to save your receipts in a safe place and shred any receipts you no longer need. You don’t want to risk any identity thief getting your vital information, even though the receipt may only contain a partial debit card number.

Protecting the bank accounts associated with any debit card is something you should take very seriously. Keep your debit cards safe and your bank accounts will be safer for it.

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John Campbell is the writer and editor of CashBuzz, A financial portal for the rest of us. Check out cashbuzz.com for the latest articles on money management and tips and tricks that can help improve your finances. This article may be reprinted on your Web site if the copyright, author information and active link are included.