Our bank insisted we obtain an RSA SecurID device ($25) when we moved to Japan.
The SecurID is a device small enough to attach to a keychain. It's battery operated but there's no way to change or access the battery. After two years, RSA mails you a new SecurID to replace your current one, charging you another $25.
Here's how it works. When a bank needs to verify you -- by phone, internet, in person -- they ask you to tell them the 6-digit numeric ID that currently displays on the device.
The thing is: the 6-digit code changes on its own every 60 seconds. And being 6 digits, there's only a one-in-a-million chance that a criminal could figure out the correct code in one minute. Virtually impossible.
Now another neat thing about this means of verification is it's not at all reliant on your communications device or means of internet access. If you were on a deserted island and could only send Morse Code by flashing light, it would work because it's completely untethered from electronic communication. It means a third party digital aggregator (or Deep State agency) doesn't need to get involved in the verification transaction.
So I thought FReepers should be aware such a private means of security. Think of it as a private channel of ID protection between you and your banker. With devices like this, the world can still be secure even if communications channels are not secure.
