Internet Banking Security - Card Reader Warning.

Extant

withnell wrote: »

The entire chip and PIN systems isn't majorly secure - I always can see what people in front of me at shops are typing in, even if they try to cover it.

And...?

The only way this is of any use to you is if you then removed the card from them, or had a card cloned before and then stalked that person until you could see them use their PIN at a POS. Neither of these would get you very far - the "normal" ATM withdrawal limit being around £300 - and would take a serious amount of effort. That's not how fraud tends to work.

No system is ever totally secure, but Chip & PIN is a definite upgrade over strip and signature. There's a balance to achieve between security and convenience; Chip & PIN is a good balance.

username

The photo idea is lovely but unworkable - for a start, some places now have policies that cashiers cannot handle customers' cards, and even if they don't then they typically won't touch it anyway.

Maybe it is time to reverse these policies and actually get cashiers to check cards?

I do this all the time at work, and it's amazing how many people get iffy when you point out to them that they aren't the cardholder. Some have also come in with cards not signed and in a name different to theirs (i.e. "wife" using husband's card) - after all, how do I know that you've not simply tea-leafed the card and pin from someone's letterbox?
In such cases, I will simply ask for another form of payment.

withnell

BarclaysManager wrote: »

The only way this is of any use to you is if you then removed the card from them, or had a card cloned before and then stalked that person until you could see them use their PIN at a POS.

Pickpocket?

James

I was hoping most people would pick up on the liability shift issue.

Anyway here's another aspect to discuss:

The threat of violence comes from the way that criminals can use the handheld CAP card readers that NatWest and Barclays provide with their online banking services. In normal use a user puts their bank card into the reader, types their PIN in and receives a one-time code that has to be entered into the online banking website. However, the screen displays a message when the wrong PIN is entered.
Armed with this information a mugger could march a victim to a secluded area, physically assault them to get their PIN, and verify it on the spot with a handheld reader. Being able to get verification in this way reduces the risk of the mugger being exposed to security cameras, such as those used around cash machines

Article Click Here.