On 5/7/2017 4:04 PM, Micky wrote:
On Sat, 06 May 2017 20:12:31 -0500, dpb wrote:

On 05/06/2017 7:55 PM, dpb wrote:
...

The biggest difference is what you're already experiencing except in
spades--when a debit card transaction occurs, real _OR_ fraudulent, the
money is gone from your account at that instant and it's up to somebody
else to get it back or you're out.

...

I don't know just how fast these "holds" actually get cleared; I would
presume within minutes if not seconds after the transaction is actually
completed the final billing transaction occurs.

I tried to call the local gasoline company today, to learn about
their end of things (The gas station guy gave me their number, told me
to call them, and he's right.) but I couldn't get the phone to work.
My landlady/roommate told me it's a toll-free number but it's one
can't call from a cell phone!!!! So tomorrow I'll use her home phone.

Thus, even though your bank balance really does take such a "ding", it
lasts only a very short time and so unless you're trying to do two
transactions simultaneously, you never really notice.

OTOH, if somebody actually makes a fraudulent transaction, now they've
either got the actual hard cash if it were an ATM withdrawal

For that, they'd need the actual card. Which indeed I could lose,
but they'd also need the PIN (which is memorized and not written on
the card.)

For cash you need the PIN, but you can use it as a credit card to buy
merchandise. Under $50 or so you don't even sign for it.