Clark has talked in the past about how our current credit card cartel uses 40-year-old magnetic strip technology to "safeguard" your data. Western Europe, meanwhile, has leapfrogged us and uses smart chip technology in their credit cards instead of an old-fashioned magnetic strips. The smart chip makes it much more difficult for crooks to play games with your account.

There is a ray of hope on the horizon. One big bank has launched an early warning system that lets you know if a crook is using your credit or debit card. It's a simple yet elegant system that was designed by Visa and has been adopted by Wells Fargo, according to a Bloomberg report.

Here's how the Wells Fargo Rapid Alerts program works: Whenever your card is used, you are notified by text or e-mail with the amount of purchase; the date, time and location of purchase; the merchant's name; and currency conversion info (if the transaction is done overseas).

This program is being offered for free to Wells Fargo customers. Hopefully other banks will follow their lead and roll out similar programs for their customers.

Rapid Alerts really offers invaluable protection for debit card users. The worst circumstances that Clark hears from callers involve debit cards being compromised, with the result that accounts are emptied and your checks bounce. There is still no requirement under law that a bank cover all the overdraft charges when a debit card is stolen!