A debit card from your business, in the virtual hands of a thief, spells a mountain of trouble. The thief can generate a duplicate of your business debit card, then splurge. A “cloned” card can be swiped in a card reader, appearing legitimate.
Banks are not legally required to reimburse a business’s stolen money from the fraudulent debit card purchases. Nevertheless, some institutions do reimburse, but that’s only after the business owner can prove theft.
Banks are reluctant to believe businesses claiming victimship. A business may spend months, even years, using lawyers, trying to convince a bank of the crime.
Tips from creditcardguide.com for preventing business debit card fraud and getting faster reimbursement:
For purchases, use your business credit card. If theft occurs, the card company will immediately remove the fraudulent charges—and then pursue the matter.
Use the business debit card strictly for a withdrawal or a deposit. The card should be sans the MasterCard or Visa logo; it’s for deposits and withdrawals only. If you make a purchase with it on a tampered-with card reader, the thief could use your data to make purchases—that’s instant cash out of your account.
Keep tabs on your account daily; weekly at a minimum, even if your bank promises “anomaly detection” in your purchases.
Set up apps in mobile devices to allow account holders to check activity daily.
Use multi-layered protection. Set up spending limits, set up text/email alerts.
Suspicious events, such as exceeding a specified dollar amount in a purchase, should be alerted via e-mail or text.
Implement limited access by employees to your business’s cards.
Get to know your banker or credit union. Having to convince a bank that your money was stolen will be easier if you have a pre-established relationship with the institution. Does your financial institution know you? Or are you merely one of a million customers? Don’t be just another face in the crowd to your bank or credit union; it might someday save your can.
Robert Siciliano is an Identity Theft Expert to AllClearID. He is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Identity Was Stolen See him knock’em dead in this identity theft prevention video. Disclosures.