Posted on 03/15/2006 6:12:09 AM PST by Calpernia
Thieves have figured out how to steal your PIN (Personal Identification Number) so they can raid your bank accounts using phony ATM cards, after stealing other pertinent data about your account from a third-party company. The New Jersey banking industry says complaints of what is called ATM fraud are on the rise in the Garden State because of this weak link.
"Some debit card machines, particularly those used at what are called Point of Sale or POS locations, actually store the PIN numbers on the terminals themselves. Criminals are able to access PIN numbers to create new debit cards using real PIN numbers," says Tim Doherty, the spokesman for the New Jersey Banking Association.
"Consumers are first noticing it when unauthorized withdrawals are being made on their checking accounts," says Doherty, adding that fighting the problem has been new territory for banks. He says such unauthorized transactions are not covered the same was as credit card fraud would be.
Financial institutions around the country continue to issue warnings, the most recent this week by Citibank, which said it had spotted fraudulent withdrawals from U.S. accounts made in Canada, the United Kingdom and Russia.
In each case, the banks have blamed a third-party company - in some cases, more specifically identified as a merchant or retailer. Speculation has been rampant that the source of the stolen data is office supply store OfficeMax, starting with an article last month in the San Francisco Chronicle indicating 200,000 account numbers had been stolen from the firm. OfficeMax denies it's to blame.
Doherty says you can protect yourself by using your debit card as a credit card when buying things like groceries or gasoline. "The problem does not appear to be happenening with ATMs. ATMs operate in a much more secure environment and do not store pin numbers," he says.
ping
So what do I do? Change my pin and then stop using it as a debit card for purchases?
You can use your debit card as a credit card.
Should I change my PIN? (I don't even know how to do that.)
You change your pin by contacting your bank.
I don't want to scare you into changing your pin; but I do know the card fraud is a little more rampant than they are letting on.
If I were you, I would change my pin and I would use the debit card as a credit card.
If you card works like mine, it defaults to the checking first to take the money. It only creates a credit charge if there is no money in the checking.
Go to a branch of your bank. You can change it there.
Most POS (Piece of $*&@) terminals give you the option of processing a check card as either a debit card or credit card. If you have a check card that doubles as a bank debit card, always choose "credit card" when asked by a POS terminal. Only use it as a debit card at an ATM.
bttt
PAY CASH!
Sounds like a plan. I think I'll hit up the bank today. Thanks.
Well, that does make sense.
I'm really bad at carrying cash since I was mugged.
I don't seem to be alone on that one.
Which is why I always carry and use my debit card.
Which is probably also why this scam preyed on the debit cards.
Victim conditioning???
Make sure you read Paleo's post too. He worded it better than I did.
But that is what I was trying to say.
Of course, my bank charges a buck when I do that, but doesn't when I use a PIN.
So because they cannot keep the system secure due to insanely stupid design such as storing PIN numbers, I've got to pay more for transactions. Bloodsuckers.
Use cash to buy a gun
When using a debit card just choose credit. It usually requires a signature. If a merchant runs it as a debit tell them to cancell the transaction and run it as a credit. That will take care of it and it will still 'debit' your account just like when you use the pin pad. I knew it would have to be the merchant's or an employee stealing it. We have a pin pad and I never even knew it stored the data. We specifically made sure our computer does not store numbers. I'll have to go in this morning and see if I can't change the pin pad to NOT store numbers.
Now that is a good point. I missed that.
That would make sense.
I may add it was a weapon that helped me when I was mugged also.
But this is Blue Jersey. We must be victims for entitlement conditioning so we can stop being self reliant.
So no gun for you! (said in soup nazi voice)
bump
I think this may lead either requiring signatures or the use of biometrics such as fingerprint recognition for debit card transactions.
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