Identity Theft
Consumers are generally aware that credit cards come with generous protections–their liability for theft is limited to $50, and even that sum is now waived by most banks. But no such broad protections are afforded to debit cards and other electronic cash-based transactions, such as funds transfers between a checking account and PayPal.com.
According to Regulation E, consumers must report a electronic funds transfer problem within two days to insulate themselves from liability, and even then are still on the hook for $50. Consumers who report a problem within 60 days have their liability capped at $500. But after that, there are no federally-mandated consumer protections–and consumers may end up losing all their money. Legally, victims in this situation are on very shaky footing when they try to fight their bank.