HELOISE Guard your PIN when using your debit card

Dear Friends: Although check-cashing cards are handy to have, you need to be careful with them. Remember, many of these cards can be used just like a credit card, but money is deducted directly from your checking account. Here are a few safety hints to keep in mind when using your card:
Since these cards can also be used with a debit feature, you will be assigned a personal identification number (PIN). Never tell anyone your number, and don't write it down in your wallet or on your card! If someone has your PIN, the person can use your card for purchases and can use it at an ATM machine to withdraw money.
Be sure to keep receipts so that when you receive your statement, you can check that all charges are correct and have been made by you.
Hope these simple safety hints will help keep you and your checking account safe. With identity theft on the rise, it is essential to keep on top of all your credit cards, etc. Heloise
Dear Heloise: Your hint about copying the fronts of credit cards is great! I also copied the back of the card so that I had easier access to the company's toll-free telephone numbers. Jean, Via E-mail
Dear Heloise: Hi! I just thought I would write to you about a great way that I clean my jewelry. I bought a very inexpensive battery-powered toothbrush. I add a gentle soap to it and turn it on. It is able to clean in every nook and cranny with no effort on my part. My kind of cleaning! Beckie G., Vancouver, Wash.
Easy cleaning is the way to go -- just be sure the settings are sturdy and all stones are secure. Heloise
Dear Heloise: I am a freshman in college, and to do laundry I have to walk down a few flights of stairs. Rather than carry my economy-sized 10-pound laundry detergent up and down stairs, not to mention the loads of dirty laundry, I have come up with a simple solution.
I fill a large, clean, empty pill container with detergent. Not only do I have enough detergent to do a few loads of laundry, but the childproof cap prevents soap from spilling everywhere! Jacqui M., University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
We received a letter from L.G. of Colorado Springs, Colo., and she said she buys those new soap tablets, since they are so easy to carry when she takes her stuff to self-launder places.
One of my assistants likes the tablets, too. She says that when she travels, she throws a couple in her luggage. This way, if she stays at a hotel with a laundry room, she can do a load or two. Heloise
XSend a great hint to: Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000, Fax: (210) HELOISE or E-mail: Heloise@Heloise.com.
King Features Syndicate