3D Secure - VBV & MCSC Agony

jakemorrison

Okay,

It's that time of year again when the trusty credit card comes for a few days of activity for some Christmas shopping. Along with it comes the villain that is 3 Domain Secure.

Alas, I thought I would spend my day off work buying Christmas presents, well attempting to.

I cant say this was a pleasant affair, the incessant Verified by Visa and MasterCard Secure Code screens were the bane of my life. I regularly click cancel unless this is an absolute must purchase because I do not believe in entertaining them. I don't think I found one retailer that did not adopt that service. Why must we be subjected to this?! I have been lucky enough before that in the past when I use my card online the 3D secure system just seems to pass - it gives the screen though saying something like "We are verifying your transaction" then suddenly a confirmation page appears, why can't we have that more often?!

Also, does anyone happen to know of any good websites who do not use 3D Secure? I know of Apple and Amazon (at least they see sense) but I am unsure of anyone else.

grumbler

You sound like a person using someone's stolen card details for your Christmas shopping.

For any other reasonable person it's absolutely clear that VBV and MCSC exist to prevent this happening. Retailers saving money by not using it take risk of the fraudulent transactions unconditionally reversed by the card issuer later - when unauthorised transactions are reported.

jakemorrison

grumbler wrote: »

You sound like a person using someone's stolen card details for your Christmas shopping.

For any other reasonable person it's absolutely clear that VBV and MCSC exist to prevent this happening. Retailers saving money by not using it take risk of the fraudulent transactions unconditionally reversed by the card issuer later - when unauthorised transactions are reported.

Okay, Excuse me?

I don't like the insinuations that you are making. I am a very honest individual and have been for my entire life. I am certainly not a criminal using someone else's credit card data to fund my Christmas Shopping. I am using my own funds from my own cards. I do not need to use someone else's. I'm wealthy enough. If that's sorted then we will move on.

However, having taken onboard fully what you have just said - I politely point out that you are wrong, I can see your point of view but just plain and simply wrong.

I simply vented my frustration and mentioned something that has been mentioned many times on these very same forums - there are also numerous articles in the media asking the very same.

Maybe I worded the post wrong but it did not have any sinister meaning.

jamesd

I don't know of any good sites not using 3d secure or a similar technology. That's because I don't consider any site good unless it is using them.

You probably dislike that but how would you fancy finding that some retailer has used your card details to ship goods somewhere in the country and won't tell you what the goods were or even what part of the country they were shipped to? That's what this sort of technology is supposed to be preventing.

jakemorrison

jamesd wrote: »

I don't know of any good sites not using 3d secure or a similar technology. That's because I don't consider any site good unless it is using them.

You probably dislike that but how would you fancy finding that some retailer has used your card details to ship goods somewhere in the country and won't tell you what the goods were or even what part of the country they were shipped to? That's what this sort of technology is supposed to be preventing.

Yes, I understand that.
I just can't stand having to put in the details over and over again, even then for it to come and tell me it's wrong sometimes.
It gets on my nerves. I'm sure there is a better solution that still has integrity and security intact.

eddddy

I have concerns about signing up for 3D secure for the following reasons:

If your card details are used fraudulently without 3D secure, as grumbler implies, the bank will refund without too much fuss. (You could say that the bank don't care, because they just take the money back from the retailer).

If your card details are used fraudulently with 3D secure, the banks are more likely to say "you must have told somebody your 3D password, or you were negligent - e.g. by not having up to date virus protection". (You could say that the banks now care, because they stand to lose the money - not the retailer.)


So I kind of prefer the fraud protection I get by not signing up to 3D secure - although I can see why the retailers don't.

SnowTiger

jakemorrison wrote: »

I just can't stand having to put in the details over and over again, even then for it to come and tell me it's wrong sometimes.
It gets on my nerves. I'm sure there is a better solution that still has integrity and security intact.

You should tell Visa and Mastercard about your "better solution". I'm sure they've love to hear it.

There's a massive pot of gold waiting for someone who can come up with a better solution to this problem and those of passwords in general and proving ID online.

It's interesting that after twenty years of increasing widespread Internet use no one has come up with one.

jamesd

jakemorrison wrote: »

I just can't stand having to put in the details over and over again, even then for it to come and tell me it's wrong sometimes. ... It gets on my nerves. I'm sure there is a better solution that still has integrity and security intact.

I agree that it's frustrating at times.

There are better solutions available but they haven't yet been widely adopted. 3D secure and similar solutions have the advantage that they can be used on whatever equipment you're already using and don't need anything else.

The hardware devices used to verify things by many banks are a more secure alternative. So are fingerprint readers and other forms of biometric check. Since suitable phones can read fingerprints and phones and computers can be connected by Bluetooth it's possible that that sort of approach may end up being used or available sometime.

That would still leave various types of fraud possible so linking it to some positive confirmation of the amount being authorised would also be useful.

On one of my computers I log in to the operating system using a fingerprint reader in the keyboard. Not available yet for banking and purchasing transactions, though.

agrinnall

If you want to avoid VbV then get yourself a Nationwide card, they have taken the decision (rightly or wrongly) to bypass it.

nidO

Natwest do essentially the same, their cards are all 3D secure enabled but the verification request is only presented if they consider your transaction to be high-risk for one reason or another, in the several years since they adopted this policy I think i've been requested to enter my password once, from an awful lot of online shopping.

That said, I don't see what the fuss is about. Being told your password letters are wrong? enter the right ones then. Sure you are? Get a more reliable bank, I never had Natwest complain that my details were wrong when they used 3DS for every transaction (and these days, calling Natwest reliable compared to other banks is quite something).

meer53

I've done all my Christmas shopping online. Not had any problems with VbV at all.

If it's telling you the letters are wrong then you're inputting the wrong letters !