What can thieves do with a stolen debit card number?

Question

and other information on the card.

Answer 1

use the money on it to buy things online?  or elsewhere if it is a visa check card... if not i guess they can try to figure out the pin?

Answer 2

If they stole the card, they plan on using it. You'd better cancel it ASAP. They don't need the pin number to buy things online.

Answer 3

Just about anything.  I deal with this daily because I am a financial service representative at the bank.

With your debit card number they can completely drain your bank account by shopping online.  Just today I was assisting a customer that had his debit card number stolen.  It was used to wire over $800.00 through Western Union.  If you have the Visa logo on the card then there is some recourse available to you if there are some unauthorized charges.

You need to immediately notify your bank and inform them of the theft.  They can block the card immediately and no further charges can be made.  They will also be able to tell you when the card was last used.  Unfortunately, if Visa has already approved of a purchase with your card number, even if the card is blocked now, those charges will likely hit your account.  Most of the time charges AFTER your notification can be stopped, but not the ones before you called it in.  Thus the urgency to call the bank now.

If there are some charges that hit your account w/out your authorization then you will need to dispute those charges with your bank and a police report will need to be filed.  

Also, is your account number on the front of the card as well or just the 16 digit card number?  If your account number was on the front of the card (which most banks don't do anymore) than your entire account is now compromised and you need to begin the process of closing this account.

I hope this helps.

Answer 4

After you contact your financial institution, they can't do a thing with it, besides throw red flags up that they're attempting to use a card that has been reported lost or stolen.

If they don't know your PIN number then they can't withdraw cash from your account. Rest assured, most banks will not hold you responsible for any unauthorized transactions, as long as the card has been reported as lost or stolen to the bank within a few days.