[Timesink]

Careful with that debit card. If it is lost or stolen and your account is cleaned out, the bank is not required to replace the money. There is no limited liability like there is with a credit card.

Yes there is, unless you're so careless as to wait over two months to even open your monthly statements. The federal Electronic Funds Transfer Act clearly states:

• $0 -- after you report the card missing
• up to $50 -- if you notify the bank within two business days after you realize the card is missing, unless you were on extended travel or in the hospital
• up to $500 -- if you fail to notify the bank within two business days after you realize the card is missing, unless you were on extended travel or in the hospital, but do notify the bank within 60 days after your bank statement is mailed to you listing the unauthorized withdrawals, and
• unlimited -- if you fail to notify the bank within 60 days after your bank statement is mailed to you listing the unauthorized withdrawals.

Also, Visa and Mastercard have both instituted rules that member banks cannot charge users of Visa or Mastercard debit cards for more than $50 no matter what. Many banks will cover you entirely for any losses as a courtesy anyway, and a lot of states have laws limiting your liability to $50 no matter what.

[SpeakLittle_ThinkMuch]

Welllll, we're both right. From the Clark Howard consumer website:

"Fake Visa and Master card rights
Clark constantly warns consumers against using 'fake' credit cards issued by Visa and Mastercard. These popular cards are often automatically sent to bank customers to use in place of standard checking accounts, ATM's or traditional credit cards. Checking accounts are debited with each use.
Clark and Team Clark Howard constantly hear from consumers that encounter enormous problems when these debit cards are stolen and their checking accounts are wiped out. In a majority of cases, banks are completely non-cooperative in restoring the money to accounts. This is the opposite of what would happen if a thief steals a traditional credit card and charges up a storm. Under federal banking laws, a consumer's liability is zero for these fraudulent charges. With the debit card bank have often refused to pay overdraft charges or other penalties incurred by the account holder.
The vice-president of Visa International spoke with Clark on-air today and told listeners that member banks issuing Visa debit cards must cooperate with consumers and restore checking balances within 5 days. He claims that no one should have to pay a penny in penalties and that debit card holders have the same rights and protections that traditional credit card holders have.
There is no one hot-line to call if your Visa debit card is stolen. Instead it is suggested that you work with your bank and merchants to resolve the fraudulent charges.
Clark does admit that a debit card is a good budgeting tool. Yet he is still mystified why debit cards don't have PIN number security to keep these frequent occurrences of fraud from happening in the first place."

I guess it depends on the definition of "debit card".