A reporter from the Detroit Free Press recently wrote about someone stealing his identity after raiding his mailbox. The criminal used the credit card company checks that are sent in the mail and trigger cash advances. If they’re stolen and passed by someone, the first you know of it is when it appears on your credit card statement. The thieves used the checks to steal $7,000 on his Chase credit cards. The reporter’s neighbor, who had a Citibank card, also had money stolen to the tune of $32,000. Both men now have to do affidavits of fraud. Eventually, the transactions will be reversed and no money will leave their hands. That is the good news. Because these are credit cards, nothing will happen if they dispute it in time. Contrast that story with one about PayPal, and the troubles it has had with duplicated withdrawals. PayPal is inadvertently deducting charges twice and sometimes more often when people use a debit card. In one case, it happened more than 20 times. It’s okay to use a debit card for small every day transactions, but never use one for major purchases.