Posted by Danny on 12/23/06 13:55

"mbcUK" <martin.cross8@NOSPAMHEREbtopenworld.com> wrote in message
news:ROSdnZwE7KXouhDYnZ2dnUVZ8te3nZ2d@bt.com...
> kim wrote:
>> I just had a letter from a credit card company informing me that a
>> laptop containing personal customer details has been stolen from one
>> of *their* employees and advising *me* of how I can take extra
>> security measures to prevent it from happening again.
>>
>> So there you go. It is *my* fault that one of *their* employees was
>> allowed to store personal details in a form which easily stolen by a
>> third party and it is *my* fault if any money is missng from my
>> account as a result. Nothing to do with them at all.
>>
>> (kim)
>
> Stunning, but CC security hardly seems big in a lot of places today, in
> Manchester earlier I used the wifes CC 3 times and due to pinpad errors
> had to sign, and was allowed to, no questions etc. Could have been anyones
> card

I've always said that 'chip & pin' isn't about improving the security of
cards - it's about allowing companies to *automate* more and more systems so
they don't have to physically have a human there to check signatures. In
effect, chip & pin is a *cost saving exercise* and nothing more. Just look
at how many supermarkets now have 'self service' check outs - you wouldn't
have had those before chip & pin came along!

The simple fact is that if you know the pin number of someone else's card,
you can use it to your heart's delight and never get questioned. I often use
my wife's card, for example, to pay for anything from fuel to food in pubs
and not once has someone questioned why the card is in the name of a 'Mrs'
rather than a 'Mr'. Nope - they blindly take the card and get fixated on you
typing in the pin code. Providing you type the right pin code, they don't
even look at the name on the card... what a joke, eh!

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