Michaels Debit Card Fraud Spotlights Need For Credit Cards

As more details emerge about Michaels—the craft supply chain where employees allegedly installed debit card skimmers to track and collect customer information, clone debit cards and steal millions from customers in 20 different states—one fraud professional is warning against the use of debit cards as a form of payment. Instead, he says, credit cards have become the safest form of payment.

Frank Abagnale, a former fraudster turned security consultant who was the inspiration for the film "Catch Me if You Can," told ABC News this week, "I don't have a debit card. I believe it's one of the worst financial tools ever given to the American public."

Abagnale became notorious in the 1960s for passing $2.5 million worth of meticulously forged checks across 26 countries over the course of five years, beginning when he was 16 years old. After serving less than five years in federal prison, he went to work for the FBI and later started his own security-consulting firm. Abagnale sees the recent Michaels case and believes there is a better way.

"The safest form of payment that truly exists on the planet is the credit card," says Abagnale. "I removed 99 percent of the risk because I spend the credit card company's money. If someone looks over my shoulder and gets my number, I have zero liability."

Abagnale may be on to something. Companies like American Express Credit Cards, Citibank Credit Cards and Discover Credit Cards have installed complex fraud preventions to protect your charges and your credit score. Feel free to shop and compare them at CustomerCreditCards.com. But, until then, here are a few highlights of their services.

Forget those free credit report commercials offering a free glance at your credit score. What those commercials tell you in lightning fast jargon at the very end is that you will be automatically enrolled in Triple Advantage, a $15/month credit monitoring system that will simply watch over your credit score and alert you if there are any changes. Citibank Credit Cards offer a better way. With Citi Identity Monitor, you pay just $12.95 per month, which provides you with the same monitoring, plus online access to fraud and credit education. And, the best part is, you get Identity Theft Expense Reimbursement Coverage of up to $25,000.

Keeping your information stable and secure is part of keeping healthy credit. With that in mind, Discover Credit Cards sends by-phone and e-mail alerts for any of the following changes: new accounts opened in your name, new applications for credit, address changes, public record changes, and any other potentially negative information on your credit files.

In November 2010, American Express Credit Cards added another layer of security for its customers—online certainty. The company purchased Accertify Inc., a company that sells fraud prevention services to online retailers and other merchants. Together with Accertify, American Express Credit Cards can offer an extra layer of security when consumers choose to buy online.