MasterCard Breach?

My bank notified me of a possible compromise of my debit card because of a problem within the MasterCard network of merchants/processors.

I immediately canceled my debit card.

For some strange reason my bank decided it could wait until April 12 to deactivate my card at 12:00AM Eastern Time, if I did not act sooner.

The popular understanding about debit cards is that, if your account gets hacked and all your money disappears through fraudulent use of a debit card, you are not protected. The situation is different in  terms of fraudulent use of a credit card.

The website of a popular financial "guru", Dave Ramsey, won't let you use a credit card for purchases. On that site you are forced to use a debit card. Most websites allow you the option; however, Dave Ramsey pushes use of a debit card and actually prevents a customer from making purchases via a credit card. It's a case of "Dave's Way" or else.

I don't have any reason to think the problem was on the Ramsey website; maybe it's only a coincidence.

If you have a MasterCard debit card, you might want to call the card issuer about any exposure.