Banks in the U.S. have put the burden on others to deal with credit- and debit-card identity theft, rather than spend the money for more effective measures used in Europe, one prominent expert told us yesterday. As a result, we could continue to experience more ID thefts like the heist of 130 million credit- and debit-card names reported earlier this week. That’s not the kind of crime that’s easy for consumers to prevent. But here are a couple of tips for what consumers CAN do.

• To determine if your card could have been among those that were compromised, monitor your accounts carefully to spot signs of unauthorized purchases or withdrawals.  Don't wait until you receive notice from your bank. Banks typically will notify you that you’re a possible data breach victim only after their fraud detection system has detected a signal indicating fraud, says Avivah Litan, an analyst specializing in fraud detection and prevention at Gartner Research in Stanford, Ct. But fraud detection systems are designed to alert card issuers when a pattern of transactions that are out of character occur,  and to avoid sending too many “false positive”  signals,  they may not transmit warning signals until after one or two unusual transactions have already occurred. 

• At a minimum, check monthly credit card and bank account statements as soon as they arrive. If you have online access,  you might want to check your bank account more often to immediately spot questionable debit charges or cash withdrawals.

• When using plastic, opt for the choices that give you the greatest protection. If thieves steal data transmitted by your card when you’re making a transaction, you’ll have greater protection and less hassle in resolving fraud-related problems if you use a credit card rather than a debit card.  When you do choose debit,  sign for your transaction rather than typing in your PIN.–Andrea Rock