Is it illegal for someone to enter your pin? 4 September 2016 at 11:37AM in Stoozing: free cash from credit cards 8 replies 5.6K views

Shrill

I am wondering if someone could help?

Is it illegal for my child to enter my pin number at a checkout? I have placed the card inside the machine and am removing it they are merely putting the 4 digits into the reader?

I have never been told otherwise but yesterday a man shouted at me and my daughter for doing so as it was "illegal" it has always been a fun thing for them to do and well if I can make them happy during the dreaded weekly shop I will try my best!

shortcrust

It's not illegal and that man sounds like an idiot, but it is against the terms and conditions of your bank. You've agreed not to share your PIN with anyone.

pogofish

How much are they paying you to enter your pin?

tripled

shortcrust wrote: »

It's not illegal and that man sounds like an idiot, but it is against the terms and conditions of your bank. You've agreed not to share your PIN with anyone.

Agree with shortcrust. However, even then, the only reason the banks care relates to their fraud liability. If money goes missing using the PIN and they get a whiff of this, they may claim your PIN wasn't secure, in which case you could find yourself on your own in terms of getting your money back. You'd likely have to satisfy them (or the ombudsman if it went that far) that your kids knowing the PIN didn't contribute to the breach.

Westie983

Its not illegal but its frowned upon, I regularly have to tell customers that I need the account holder to put the pin into the reader even if the husband, sister, child knows the pin.

If I have a couple at the counter and I see say the husband putting the pin in, I cancel the transaction and ask the wife to enter the pin, this is because although the pin has been shared they can come back and said I didn't authorise that transaction and I never entered my pin.

If there is a case where the account holder doesn't know the pin and only the other person does I would request a new pin number and limit withdrawal from the counter, and explain that you should keep your pin number secure and not share it.

If they then go to the ATM to withdraw that is their choice as we dont vet these but if there was a claim and they see it was done by another person and found out the pin was shared its unlikely the claim would proceed.

Mulder00

Not illegal, but your cards terms and conditions would probably say that you are not allowed to let anyone else use the card.

This is interesting actually, since I often let visitors use my contactless cards to travel around London as it is so much easier than Oyster. TfL's conditions specifically allow for this type of behaviour.

eddddy

Shrill wrote: »

I have never been told otherwise...

To be honest, you definitely have been told otherwise. It will be in terms and conditions that you agreed when you applied for the card.

If your bank find out you have done this, often they will close your account

And if your card is stolen and used fraudulently, you might find it very difficult to get your money back


(How old is your daughter? Just from a common sense point of view - does she tell all her friends in the playground what mummy's/daddy's PIN is. Does she cover the PIN pad when she's entering the number?)

daniel86_2

Its not illegal with your permssion but its is not a good idea to give anyone your pin number

nic_c

Not illegal, and not an issue really, unless someone uses your card without permission. With chip and pin the onus changed from the retailer to the customer. So if your card is stolen, the bank will ask who knew the pin, if anyone other than yourself they may deem it wasn't secure and not cover any losses. If you say no-one else knew and it came known that your children did, then it would be fraud.

So, no problem letting your kids do it, so long as they understand how important it is to keep it secret, and aware of any problems should the card be lost/stolen.