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If you use your debit card a lot you may want to rethink it. Laws that protect you from fraud are very different between credit and debit cards. On credit cards the maximum you can be on the hook for is $50 while with debit cards it can be up to $500. If your credit card is stolen it could is almost immediately block and has the credit transferred back to your account. With debit cards it could take up to 2 weeks for the bank to put the money back into your account leaving you with nothing.

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While the tens of millions of Target shoppers who had their credit and debit card information stolen likely won't be on the hook for any fraudulent transactions that may occur, debit card users could face much bigger headaches than credit card users.

That's because debit and credit cards are treated differently by consumer protection laws. Under federal law, your personal liability for fraudulent charges on a credit card can't exceed $50. But if a fraudster uses your debit card, you could be liable for $500 or more, depending on how quickly you report it.

"I know people love their debit cards. But man oh man, they are loaded with holes when it comes to fraud," said John Ulzheimer, credit expert at CreditSesame.com, a credit management website.

Related: 4 things to do after your credit card has been hacked

Plus, if someone uses your credit card, the charge is often credited back to your account immediately after it's reported, Ulzheimer said.

Yet, if a crook uses your debit card, not only can they drain your bank account, but it can take up to two weeks for the bank to investigate the fraud and reimburse your account.

"In the meantime, you might have to pay your rent, your utilities and other bills," said Beth Givens, director of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. The organization recommends that consumers stick to credit cards as much as possible.

Related: How not to get hacked

Whichever card you decide to swipe, here are ways to protect yourself from scammers.

Be vigilant with your accounts: The Target hack is just the latest in a long history of data breaches, and it likely won't be the last.

As a result, you should check your debit and credit account activity at least every few days and keep an eye out for any unfamiliar transactions. If you notice anything fishy, notify your bank or credit card company immediately.

"Waiting until the end of the month to check out [your] credit card statement for fraudulent use is a relic of the past," Ulzheimer said. "Fraud is a real-time crime, and we as consumers have to be constantly engaged."

Set your own fraud controls: Financial institutions have their own internal fraud controls, but some transactions can slip through the cracks, said Al Pascual, senior analyst of security risk and fraud at Javelin Strategy & Research.

Many financial institutions will let you set alerts for account transactions. Even better, some allow you to block transactions that are out of the ordinary for you, such as for online purchases at a certain kind of retailer or for any purchases over $500.

Related: Biggest credit card hacks

"We believe that consumers are going to know best as to how to protect their account," he said. "They know their own behaviors.

Watch out for fraud hotspots: You should be especially wary of using a debit card online and at retailers more vulnerable to fraud.

Gas stations and ATM machines are hotspots for so-called "skimmers," machines that scammers install to capture your card information. Watch out for ATM parts that look unusual and always cover your hand when typing your PIN in case a camera is watching, said Shirley Inscoe, a senior analyst with the Aite Group.

Don't let your guard down: If you think your information has been compromised, don't assume everything's fine after a few months. Stolen card information is often sold to a variety of groups on the black market who may hold onto it for months or even years.

"Many times these fraud rings will wait until the news dies down and people have forgotten about it before they use that data," Inscoe said. "It may not be used until next winter, so it really is a good idea for people to monitor their activity."

CNNMoney (New York) First published December 20, 2013: 6:25 AM ET

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Debit vs. credit cards: Which is safer to swipe?

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That's because debit and credit cards are treated differently by consumer protection laws. Under federal law, your personal liability for fraudulent charges on a credit card can't exceed $50. But if a fraudster uses your debit card, you could be liable for $500 or more, depending on how quickly you report it.

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There are many Types of Credit Card fraud. Leaning about these can help you protect yourself. Scammers using Phones calls, online scams, emails, texts, mail, etc. to steal your information. The Anti Fraud Centre has put out lots of information on these topics to inform you what they are, how to spot it and what to do if you fall for these scams.

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There are many known scams, pitches and fraud types, including variations thereof, with new ones invented daily. Browse this section for a list and description of common ones. Also refer to the Little Black Book of Scams for further tips.

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The amount of victums of credit fraud has stayed relatively the same but the reported loss has gone up a large amount between 2013 and 2014.

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Most things that sound too good to be true or slightly odd it's usually a scam. Scammers will offer you free

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Legitimate business people will be happy to provide you with that information. After all, they want the "bad guys" out of business too. Always be careful about providing confidential personal information, especially banking or credit card details, unless you are certain the company is legitimate.

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RFID wallets can help prevent you from having purchases made with your card without you even knowing it. With the new 'Tap' feature on cards criminals can easily bump into you with device to make a purchase with your card.

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The theft of credit/debit cards to make fraudulent purchases

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Card skimmers can also have fake key pads that capture your pin or tiny cameras hidden to watch you type your pin in.

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Skimming is a physical device placed over a machine that reads and copies your card. These devices are usually small and hard to notice. With the information they take from your card they are able to make a copy of it in order for them to make purchases in stores. You can easily check if a skimmer is placed over the machine by giving it a small tug and seeing if the card accepter pops off.

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cbc news cbcnews cbc broadcasting media public broadcasting news canadian news

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canadian broadcasting corportation (tv network)

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The CBC's Erin Collins gets a demonstration from Calgary Crimestoppers about how to protect yourself from credit card skimming at the gas pumps.

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Welcome to the Credit/Debit Fraud Websited

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Welcome to the Credit/Debit Fraud Websited

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Here I will show you how it happens, what to do if it happens to you and steps you can take to help prevent this from happening to you

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What did i learn about this that most surprised me?

I was surprised to see how small the skimming devices where. It was shocking to see such a small device capable of stealing data from hundreds of cards.

Real life example of how this topic is relevant or interesting for you?

About a year ago I got an email from my Bank saying there was unauthorized payments from my account. I clicked on the link and signed into my online banking account to see what was wrong. Immediately after I signed in I realized something was wrong. I went back into the email and saw the email address was not from my bank. I immediately called my bank and changed my password before the scammers were able to use it.

Which research did you find most interesting. Why?

I found the card skimming most interesting because I hadn't known much about it before I researched this assignment. The amount of time some criminals put into make the skimmers look realistic was impressive and scary. I think it's the method that would trick the most people because it wouldnt occurre to them there was a problem.

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Credit Card fraud can happen to anyone at any time. When dealing with your credit card online and over phone you have to be skeptical and think about what you are doing. Sheading documents with your credit card number and old credit cards can keep your information out of the hands of criminals. Whenever you need to check your account information never click on links sent to you by your bank. Always type in the addresses and signs in from there.

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Video #2 Scammers posing as CRA employees

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Video #2 Scammers posing as CRA employees

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Another Popular method of credit card fraud is through phone calls. Many of these calls use to be obviously fake but criminals are getting smarter. Skammers are now able to spoof the call to display numbers that they are not using,.  A fairly recent but popular method involves the scammer calling and pretending to be a CRA employee. This scam can be very believable if you haven't heard of it. They will often try to scare you into paying them immediately to avoid a consequence.