There are a few banks that offer what you refer to, but it's hardly mandated for online transactions in the US. (They can't realistically do that either since Mastercard SecureCode/Verified by Visa is rarely supported by online merchants here and there's no mandate for them to support it.)
Originally Posted by
EmailKid
Sorry to hear of your troubles.
As I understand it, using Debit does not give you same protection as using Credit card. While I'm in principle against, using prepaid cards (ripoff IMHO), there are some out there that reduce or eliminate some (maybe most) fees if you set up direct deposit.
At any rate, even with a small income one should try to get some sort of credit history and set up even a low credit limit credit card ASAP.
We do have some real experts in this forum, and hopefully they can chime in.
And as a last point, there are many, many ways to scam a debit card, and not necessarily online. ATMs, restaurants .... the list in Looooong
If fraud's reported within 48 hours of it occurring, you're only potentially liable for up to $50 just like credit cards. The main problem is that the bank doesn't have to give you a provisional credit for the first ten days they're investigating, which could cause cash flow problems if you have bills coming due.
Anyway, while I'd also suggest getting/using a credit card whenever possible, there are reasons not to do so. (Example: previous bad debt history/bankruptcy and not trusting oneself to not repeat the same mistakes.) In those cases, I'd get a second bank account for day to day spending and convert the debit card for the first account into an "ATM" card; this basically prevents the card from being used online and at most stores/restaurants. Once a week or so, transfer money from your first account into your second one. That way, the impact from the card being stolen is minimal.
Oh, and only use PayPal for online shopping whenever possible. People like to complain about it, but they tend to be very pro-customer and if nothing else will hide your card number from stores that might not care much about security.
(Speaking of fraud, chip should hopefully make skimming far less common and may eventually result in debit cards for normal in-person spending being close to worry free. This will probably take quite a while though.)