OT: Credit Card Skimming

[The Peeper]

My Regions debit card sends me a text every time it is used. 90% of the time my phone chirps before the vendor removes it from the chip reader or completes the transaction. That doesn't prevent it from being skimmed but it will let you know as soon as anybody uses it. Side note, my wife HATES this feature because I know EVERY time she swipes it in a card reader

 

[SyonaraStanz]

Don't think that that chip is ANY more secure. Most of Europe now requires a pin number with a chip card. They are 10 years ahead of us.

So, when someone gets .. say one million credit card numbers from Target or some other breach, they have struck gold in the US. Not so much if it was in Europe.

Exactly. The U.S. failed by going to chip and signature, rather than chip and pin. Those who made this decision didn't want to push too large of a change on the U.S. consumers, so they went halfway with chip and signature, which lacks any control for e-commerce fraud.

Also, all of the U.S. cards still have mag stripes for non-compliant terminals. With the mag stripe still on the card, it's just as susceptible to fraud as it was before EMV.

 

[615dawg]

I have gotten to where I use Apple Pay when I can.

My Discover card has been hacked three times in a year. Discover is good about refunding the charges and getting me a new card, but its a pain for autopay stuff.

 

[IBleedMaroonDawg]

Well....you do live in a state that does not have a state income tax. Where do you think they should get tax revenues or do you think taxes should be abolished entirely?

Let me put it this way... I can move just out of the city limits to Cedar Park and pay 1/2 the land taxes on the same house.

Austin proper has added tax hike on tax hike like crazy the last 10 years without fixing the infrastructure.

I can live in Leander or Round Rock for almost 1/3.

 

[VegasDawg13]

The answer is to do what you're already doing. Use credit cards and take advantage of the fraud prevention measures they offer.

You were immediately made aware of the fraud, and you were made whole (I assume timely). Yes, resetting all of your autopays is a pain in the ***, but in my opinion, it's a much bigger pain in the *** to always make sure you have cash at restaurants, not to mention the cash back/benefits you're throwing away.

 

[RocketDawg]

I was at a conference last year and one of the speakers was discussing cyber security and specifically identity theft. He pulled up a site on the dark web where you can purchase stolen credit cards, and showed us just how many people have their credit cards listed on these sites. He pulled up a small town in Minn., population of like 2700 (including children), and there were 2200 credit cards for sale from that area. His theory is that people try to purchase stolen cards for people in or around their own vicinity, as that is usually less likely to be flagged by the banks and credit card companies.

I think the big issue is the big retail hacks, like the Target one a while back, and things like the Equifax breach. If you were caught up in the Equifax breach, your personal information sufficient to open all sorts of accounts in your name will be available for purchase and use by criminals for pretty much ever. It's unfathomably scary to think about.

That's why I have LifeLock. I don't know if it does any good to have it, but I also don't want to find out if it's worthwhile.

 

[Wizard of bulldogery]

This is what happens when you download pornographic videos without paying for them. shame on all of you

 

[Jeffreauxdawg]

Are you trying to say you can watch porn for free? Tell me more..