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If you lose your debit/credit card you can at least block it very quickly.
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Yeah, you can cancel credit cards, debit cards, AND checks,. But in the meantime…
If your credit card is fraudulently used, you are legally liable for up to $50 in charges made before you report it lost, but nothing thereafter.
With a debit card, if you report the loss within two business days you are similarly liable for up to $50 for unauthorized use. However, if you don't report the loss within two business days, liability is up to $500.
If someone writes a fraudulent check, you are not legally liable at all. There is no requirement to report the missing check (though of course, you would be smart to do so.)
Additionally, if someone authorized to debit your account does so for an unauthorized amount, you may sue them to recover, but it is not the banks problem. (Example: You order a cake, authorizing the baker to debit $50 but he debits $550. You have a civil dispute with the baker you can take to small claims court, but the bank is in the clear. If you had paid with a credit card you would dispute the charge and get the credit card company would eventually refund your money. If it were with a check, the baker would have received only the amount the check was written for. (Assuming he did not forge a check, which is a jail-time offense.)
Yes, I’d say the check is the most secure, followed by the credit card, with the debit card least secure.
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Yes, true. This is in my Norwegian bank though.
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Ah. Everything I said is specific to US banking laws.
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This is at least the case for my US bank, Wells Fargo.
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A bank MAY do this. My point is that they are not legally required to do this (in the US). They may have terms and conditions (contract) with you in which they say they will do this, but they probably also have a clause that allow them to change the T&C at will, upon notice.