Without the associated PIN it is useless
In this article, they didn’t report even one incident of this card being used for identity theft.
They merely pointed to incidents of identity theft going up after their introduction.
There are plenty of ways to execute identity theft. I remain unconvinced these cards are the problem.
As near as I can tell it is a useless complication that “enhances” nothing over the standard magnetic strip. Except that now I have to keep such cards in a pocket “Faraday cage” to keep them from being “read” remotely.
You guys are behind the times on this stuff.
We’ve had chip and PIN cards in Canada for some years now (always chip AND PIN).
Adds no significant time to a credit card transaction as compared to swiping and then signing a receipt, that I’ve noticed.
For transactions under $100, we now have cards that are “Tap” (NFC) enabled. I believe the “Tap” codes embedded in the cards are pretty secure, and tied in to the chip. These cards can of course be easily used if stolen, but as mentioned, only for less than $100 at a time.
I couldn’t tell you what the pin is on mine.
However, if they want to institute pins, start by charging a $0.25 insurance fee for transactions without the pin. Notify people 1 month in advance of instituting the fee.
Every 2 months increase the fee by an additional $0.25.
Once it hit’s $1.00 of 99% of transactions are pinned, whichever comes first, give a two month notice that pins will be required.
The flaw is that online shopping isn’t going to have a pin. And requiring retailers to have the pin, is one more disadvantage that bricks and mortar have.
I never did understand how the chip was supposed to aid in security.
Before, I had to swipe the card and then enter my PIN number.
Now, I just stick the card in the slot and no PIN number is needed.
How was that supposed to be a better idea?
I’ve never had a problem with chip readers on my new card, and wish they would require it everywhere, PIN or no PIN. A chip cannot be quietly skimmed by, for example, a fake card reader at an ATM or gas pump, or a dishonest waiter. With the chip you have to have the physical card, and if someone steals it, you can call and have the card cancelled. If they go to using the PIN, so much the better. I really wish they would send an instant text message to the owner every single time the card is used, in real time.
My wife has been in banking for 40 years (bank, savings & loan, credit union). She predicted this years ago. Says the criminal element was just waiting for the US to force implementation on enough retailers and citizens before it would become a problem.
It figures that we (the powers that be) would take the fantastic PIN-and-chip idea and screw it up.
If there’s data on it, somebody can steal it. And the more data on it, the easier it is to steal. Unless the data on the chip is re-encrypted at every transaction, then it will be stolen.
Lots of places don’t even require a signature. Just shove the chip in the reader, wait for about a minute, and get your receipt and leave.
And that was the whole point.
A while ago Citibank had credit cards with your photo on them. That might be an extra level against unauthorized use.
It has always been known and anticipated that use of the chip would lead to more online fraud, because it makes some types of old-fashioned fraud more difficult. At least that was the experience in Europe, when the chip was adopted, and so they anticipated that the same would happen here.