My concern is.... something like this could happen anywhere you use your debit or credit card....... technology making life simpler is such a lie! :D

that' why I am so opposed to them, so many stores do not ask for ID so if your card is lost and stolen anyone could just "charge" things on your card.
But instead of it being "charged" the money comes out of your account and you have to fight to get it back and in the meantime checks for important bills could be bouncing.

I learned this first hand while in Paris. I lost my wallet and it was so hard to get the bank on the phone to cancel my Visa Debit card. My husband said don't worry about canceling the debit card since they need a pin, then I explained mine had a Visa Logo and when shopping with it a pin is not needed. My mom finally had to pose as me to get it cancelled. We had just refinanced a home and had about 25 grand automatically deposited in the account at the time we left for Europe, so naturally I was worried. Thankfully at my husband still has the old fashioned kind of debit card, otherwise we would have had practically NO money with several days still left on our vacation. We both carried the same credit card and that had to be cancelled so we had no credit cards to use either. What a nightmare but I learned lots of good lessons. Carry a different credit card than you spouse, keep copies of the front and back of all your cards, a backup card is a great idea, and keep all that in your room with your passport.

On a side note after going through the hassle of retracing our steps and checking with places we had been at, my husband was convinced that it was stolen, but I did not want to believe it since I had fallen in love with Paris. We never thought to check with the French Police. Two weeks after I was home, a letter came from the Paris Police Department around the corner from our hotel. Someone had found my wallet and turned it in. I either needed to pick it up in person or spend a lot of money getting it shipped back to MI but since I canceled everything I did not bother. I really felt good knowing it was not stolen.

After coming back from Paris I went to the bank and had to talk to the mgr to get the old fashioned card. And it had to be sent from the main bank in MN. But that was about 8 years ago. Recently my husband's old fashioned card was ruined in the washer and he was not able to get a non Visa debit card. My card never had an expiration date on it, so unless I loose it I guess I am safe. If I wind up loosing it, then I will just not carry a cash card with me. I almost never use it anyway, and since I go to the bank weekly with commission checks, I just get the cash I need for the week then. The banks only offer this card because like you say they make money from Visa and MasterCard, believe me they don't do it to help their customers.

Ain't that the truth!

What I don't understand is they all say "not valid unless signed" and want you to sign the back of the card.
Why would anyone sign their signature on the card, so that if it's stolen, not only does the thief have your card, they also have your signature, exactly how you sign it.
My bank card (which has a visa logo and a pin) says SEE ID on the back in the signature line, but no one ever asks for it. I try if possible not to hand my card to a cashier, and swipe it myself. Actually had a walmart employee try to tell me "she had to swipe it, company policy".
Our personal checks don't have our names, only initials. If you stole a check, you would have no idea how my name is signed on them. I try to make it harder for dishonest people.

I did go ahead and request a new card for the one I swiped at target in that time frame, just to be safe.

My parents put See ID and so do I my grandmother never signs her card and they never notice.

Mine and my parents all have our picture on them.

I would still rather shop at Target then Walmart.