How to avoid using phyical plastic debit card while tranveling?

Use the card. Go to your cards website or the bank & set up the security feature that tells you when a card is used. Mine sends a note to my cell phone. Then, if it gets used, you will see it right away, that should protect you.

Note; No merchant will let you just verbally read a number unless they can see the card & some ID to prove the names match. It is to risky..

Using the actual plastic card would be much safer than just verbally giving out the card number. Besides, merchants are not going to accept you verbally giving them a number. They want to see the card to make sure YOU aren't trying to defraud them.

Most places use readers. You swipe the card yourself, select debit (which requires your PIN) or credit (which will require your signature). The cashier doesn't actually see the card or the number. Much more secure.

My advice is to get a pre-paid debit card if you're this paranoid.

The reason is this: if you just want to read off the number, they are going to get suspicious. That's not something people do. It raises the alarm. I don't know why you're hesitant, but being this paranoid just makes me think a pre-paid debit card would be the easiest way to go.

Unfortunately, you cannot give your information orally; they have to have the actual card. With fraud running ram-pet, they can't go based on your say so.

There's always traveler's checks. You can order those online as most banks, nowerdays, don't sell them anymore. Traveler's checks work just like cash. You can receive money back from them. Though most kids that work in stores have never seen one before and might look at you funny.

You could do prepaid cards.

You have 3 options.

1) Suck it up and deal with the fact that someone you don't know MAY have to OCCASIONALLY swipe your card

2) use only cash

3) use a prepaid debit card that is not linked to your checking account.