I wouldn't want one of those fancy schmancy type of debit cards. I carry a regular one, but never even use it. I pay for everything with a credit card because it's safer and I don't have to pay right away.

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The mind is a weird and mysterious place

I have a credit card, with a chip imbedded in it. Have read that a person
should tape a piece of aluminum foil over it, to prevent someone (in a supermarket, for instance) from hacking into it. I may consider, as
no store has used it -- just the magnetic strip, so far.

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You have to pay (péage) on the French autoroutes. When I entered my bank card in the machine, it took money off of my account without asking for my PIN. There have been a lot of problems already with this, wrong amounts that are taken from people's bank accounts etc... and then there's the safety aspect, what if someone finds your bank card in France?? They can pay their péage with it with no fuss, really not safe. I checked my bank account when I was back in Belgium but all was well, luckily.

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rOZZ
Music
Pictures

It is not uncommon for credit cards to waive any verification here in the US if the amount is less than $25. The amount can very bank by bank. But often when I buy a mean I will give them my card it's swiped and that's it. So please be aware.

I wouldn't want one of those fancy schmancy type of debit cards. I carry a regular one, but never even use it. I pay for everything with a credit card because it's safer and I don't have to pay right away.

Same here, plus my card earns Amtrak Guest Rewards points.

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David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

aluminum foil

I have a small pouch I made from
aluminum for my cards.....

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The Chip & Pin are actually safer than the magnetic swipe cards as they are extremely difficult to duplicate. By the end of 2015, all merchants in the US will have to accept Chip & Pin cards. I believe there is also a deadline for all banks to supply cards with chips (either & pin or & signature). Chip & signature fixes some problems, but not others that the chip & pin fixes. I have had a couple of stores use the pin portion of the card since it was there.

The chip & pin cannot be read without a powered contact. It is the contactless ones that you have to worry about as they can be read from a distance with a directional antenna and the correct hardware & software.

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BOINC WIKI

aluminum foil

I have a small pouch I made from
aluminum for my cards.....

I've been meaning to get one...they make those.

But from what I've read, we (in the US)are behind with our credit cards tech. So it's easier to commit credit card fraud here.

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Even on the beach.
Blackpool

It's not chip and pin cards that are inherently insecure but the newer RFID cards.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_identity_theft

In the UK they have the symbol shown in top right corner.

But from what I've read, we (in the US)are behind with our credit cards tech. So it's easier to commit credit card fraud here.

I can remember being totally stunned when shopping in Macey's New York back in 2009 to be asked to "sign" the credit card receipt!!

The UK has had chip and pin since 2004.

Then finding all I needed to do to get fuel was to swipe my card in the pump reader, no pin, no sign, just swipe.

It surprised me even more when that was still the case last September!

I guess that is is to do with the sheer logistics of getting a chip and pin card to all users and then rolling out the necessary hardware to all outlets. Still it must make the USA a fraudsters paradise.

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We had a problem a few years ago in the UK with a certain group of garages being supplied with hundreds of tampered with card swipe machines, that were "skimming" cards. They can also fit devices to bank ATM's. Another trick is to work in pairs, at ATM's where one in a queue will look over your shoulder to get the PIN number then the accomplice will pickpocket you for the card.

My credit card stays at home and is only used for online purchases, and I always use the inside cash machine never the outside one. The debit card a/c has minimal funds in it and I am only liable for the first £50 until I inform them it has been lost or stolen.

The chip & pin cannot be read without a powered contact. It is the contactless ones that you have to worry about as they can be read from a distance with a directional antenna and the correct hardware & software.

I think this business of wrapping cards in foil is becoming an urban myth and rather OTT. Yes it is possible to sit outside an office building in a blacked out van, and with the right equipment monitor computer transactions inside the building, and maybe also contactless cards at a distance. Maybe MI5 or MI6 or the CIA, black ops etc have access to such sophisticated surveillance equipment, I doubt the average criminal gang does. They can and do make many times more money from extortion and drugs than card fraud.

If it genuinely bothers you, leave your cards at home and use cash instead for your purchases, or buy your groceries on-line, get them delivered, and pay on-line. That way you don't carry cash, and your cards stay safely at home. OK there are gas stations, restaurants, pubs etc where cash or a card payment is necessary, just make sure the the card being used has minimal funds in its linked account.

Maybe people were happier in the days when they kept their cash under the mattress, but of course burglars soon learned that was the first place to look, that and the vase on the mantlepiece. Just be careful and don't get neurotic!

I hear ya Chris, but then I just got a good credit score of 704 and I've only had the card for only a month, My card stays in My wallet, it has a stripe.

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The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

Target had a major data breach around last Christmas, that exposed quite a few people's personal info gathered via CC's to hackers. Supposedly it was an inside job, but I never heard exactly how it was resolved.

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The mind is a weird and mysterious place

Yes I also hear ya Vic. But I do wish that you wouldn't post personal financial details on a bulletin board that is open to the whole world. The fact that you have $177 and pay $25 a month is private to you, not 7 billion other people :-)

There's no account details and no last name, so I doubt anything would come of it, besides that's not a current balance and the payment is a common one.

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The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

Yes I also hear ya Vic. But I do wish that you wouldn't post personal financial details on a bulletin board that is open to the whole world. The fact that you have $177 and pay $25 a month is private to you, not 7 billion other people :-)

Your credit score should be a private matter (IMHO) but do as you wish.

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Target had a major data breach around last Christmas, that exposed quite a few people's personal info gathered via CC's to hackers. Supposedly it was an inside job, but I never heard exactly how it was resolved.

After they found out they got in via "the internet of things" they closed the hole that allowed the air conditioners on the same network as the credit card data. As to the hacked data, it is still for sale although a bit stale now. Target was able to tell the banks what card numbers might have been stolen, so a lot of people got a new card with a different number.

And that very same kind of breach has happened at least twice since then that I have heard of, so closing loopholes is not taken seriously.

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Target had a major data breach around last Christmas, that exposed quite a few people's personal info gathered via CC's to hackers. Supposedly it was an inside job, but I never heard exactly how it was resolved.

After they found out they got in via "the internet of things" they closed the hole that allowed the air conditioners on the same network as the credit card data. As to the hacked data, it is still for sale although a bit stale now. Target was able to tell the banks what card numbers might have been stolen, so a lot of people got a new card with a different number.

And that very same kind of breach has happened at least twice since then that I have heard of, so closing loopholes is not taken seriously.

Here in the Chicago area, it has happened recently with Jewel Food Stores (I shopped there twice during the period in question) and some UPS Stores (not been there in years). Sounds like it was not the same kind of breach in both cases.

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David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

But from what I've read, we (in the US)are behind with our credit cards tech. So it's easier to commit credit card fraud here.

I can remember being totally stunned when shopping in Macey's New York back in 2009 to be asked to "sign" the credit card receipt!!

The UK has had chip and pin since 2004.

Then finding all I needed to do to get fuel was to swipe my card in the pump reader, no pin, no sign, just swipe.

It surprised me even more when that was still the case last September!

I guess that is is to do with the sheer logistics of getting a chip and pin card to all users and then rolling out the necessary hardware to all outlets. Still it must make the USA a fraudsters paradise.

Actually, Bernie, for several years now; Gas station pay pumps require the customer to put in their Postal Zip Code for security to authorize the charge on the pump. Since your card is from outside the US; you may not have been subject to that security measure.

However; I still wish the US would get chip and pin cards. They are much more secure.

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TimeLord04
Have TARDIS, will travel...
Come along K-9!
Join Calm Chaos

In the Chicago area, Chicago Transit Authority and Pace, the suburban bus agency, just switched from their fare card system to a system called Ventra. It's an RFID debit card. It didn't work very well at first, but they seem to have gotten most of the bugs out and finally stopped selling and accepting the old cards.

One remaining bug, which could be a feature if they handled it better, is that it also reads other RFID cards that get near the scanner.

The whole thing is set up more to the benefit of the Ventra contractor than the public.

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David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

Oh yeah, just remembered. If you want to use an RFID card other than Ventra, you have to register it with Ventra or it will get charged the cash fare, which is higher than the standard fare with a Ventra card.

(These things are mainly intended for daily commuters, not casual tourists.)

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David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.