September 2011 Security Tip - Protecting Yourself Against Debit Card Fraud

"I have been a customer with Harborstone for well over six years. Today I went to the jewelry store to purchase my fiancé’s ring for our wedding in addition to a watch for his upcoming birthday. The overall purchase was pretty spendy and as I was receiving my total at the register, the cashier had told me that a hold had been placed on my account.

At that exact moment, I received a call from Harborstone's fraud protection services. The employee on the other line was very polite and checked in with me personally to verify that I was indeed the one making the purchases. The employee even went so far as to apologize for the inconvenience--I am writing this comment because I wanted to let Harborstone know that this was most definitely NOT an inconvenience for me. With the constant threat of identity theft lurking around every corner, I very much appreciated the speedy response from Harborstone's fraud protection services.

I have heard horror stories from my friends whose banks were either slow in response to potential identity theft or were unwilling to work with their customers when fraudulent purchases were made in their names. So my extreme gratitude goes out to all of Harborstone's employees for knowing your customers and for the work that you do to prevent fraud. I normally do not make major purchases at jewelry stores and I appreciated the immediate check in. I will definitely refer all of my friends and family members to you. Thank you!"

- Harborstone Member

Stories like these happen every day. At Harborstone, we constantly work to ensure the safety and security of your debit card transactions.

Still, debit card fraud does occur. We'll always be ready to help if the unexpected happens, but it's important to know the steps you can take to protect yourself from being the victim of debit card fraud.

Keep Your Debit Card Safe - Nothing makes debit card fraud easier than when a criminal has physical access to your card. You can't prevent all access to your debit card, but you can be smart about it. Keep your card in a safe place, or on your person. Don't forget it in a car, where it might be picked up if you're the victim auto theft. Use it at only at merchants you trust.

Keep Your PIN Secret - Your debit card is only as secure as your PIN number. Memorize your PIN and don't share it with anyone. Don't write it down and store it near your debit card, especially in your wallet. That's the first place a criminal would check. If for any reason you think your PIN might be compromised, contact us immediately. We can give you a new one and keep your card safe.

Talk To Us - Monitor your account regularly. If you see a charge that might be suspicious, call us! It will only take a few minutes to find out if the charge is legitimate, and we don't mind helping. If the charge is ok, you'll have peace of mind. If not, we'll be able to respond immediately. Remember, the quicker we can help, the better our chance of resolving the fraud at no loss to you. Your liability could grow if the fraud is unreported, so call right away.

Travelling? Let us know that, too - A lot of debit card fraud occurs overseas, so if you're travelling, be sure to give us a call. We might stop your transactions that originate out of the country if we aren't sure you've been on the move. We do this to keep you secure - after all, it's important that we verify strange transactions. But it can be a big inconvenience if you've just landed overseas.