You need to watch out for debit card overdrafts. They could cost you a lot more than you’re prepared to pay.

An overdraft occurs when you don’t have enough money in your account to cover a check or debit card transaction when it posts to your attached bank account.

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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.

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Check cards play an important role in our ongoing transition to a “cashless society.” As the cashless alternative to writing checks, check cards are often used in place of hard currency.

Check cards are a step up from traditional automed teller machine (ATM) cards. With an ATM card, you can withdraw money directly from your bank account at any compatible ATM machine.

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Debit card “skimmers” no longer need to look over your shoulders to steal your vulnerable debit card or ATM account information. They can get the all the information they need right from the ATM itself.

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With debit cards, your personal identification number (PIN) has been long regarded as the surest way to protect your bank accounts if your debit card is stolen. We were told that if nobody sees us enter our PINs our accounts would be protected.

This is no longer true.

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If your debit card is stolen or your debit card account is compromised your bank accounts will be wide open for theft. The sooner you find out your account is compromised, the better.

Perhaps the best way to monitor your bank accounts is to get online. If your bank offers online banking you should sign up immediately if you’re not already wired in.

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If you use a credit or debit card to make reservations, preorder merchandise online or even start a tab at a bar, a hold may be placed on the card to cover the estimated costs of the transaction. This “blocks” the funds from being used until the final bill is charged to your card.

By blocking the estimated funds needed to cover the final bill, businesses ensure that they’ll be paid before a customer makes use of various goods or services.

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