(no subject)

[tamakun]

Just recently I got a new VISA card in the mail to replace my old one that had expired. The trouble is, they used the same 16-digit number; just changing the expiry date. I'm sure this is their regular practice.

The thing is, I've had this card now for ... I guess maybe 5-6 years, and over the past year, I've discovered that I've now remembered the entire 16-digit code, including the 3-digit "confirmation code" printed on the back to prove that I have the physical card. The new card has a different security code, which I've also now remembered.

Now, I know Visa would like me to be able to remember the number, because it'd make me use it more often and make more impulse-buys from places like FutureShop.ca and the like. But I don't like the fact that it's that easy... I want to make it harder for me to order stuff. I've been trying to cut back on my extraneous spending lately, and reading The Consumerist, it tells tales about freezing your credit card in a cup of ice so that if you need to use the card, you really have to work at it. But with me memorizing the number and even the security code, why do I need the card, again...?

I'm also kinda scared by this RFID stuff, since now my new Visa card has a "chip", as well as a simple icon denoting that it has a "tap and go" i.e. wireless design. I don't think credit cards should have wireless tech on it, we've had enough scares with data thieves and people merely possessing a card number by bumping you - those stories came out back in the technology's infancy, but it still concerns me.

I'm generally lazy - if I have to go find my credit card to make an order online, I might reconsider if I really need that DVD of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Volume 5.

Comments

[scruloose.livejournal.com]

You're absolutely right about wireless technology in credit cards. Hell, even the chips that have to be inserted into the PIN terminal are vulnerable. I read an article recently about an exploit that tells the cash register you used chip-and-PIN authentication (so the cashier doesn't ask you to sign the receipt), and tells the PIN pad that you used signature authentication (so it doesn't prompt you for a PIN number).

So with this trick, all you need is a stolen card, no PIN and no signature required.

[tamakun.livejournal.com]

So, it's good to keep an eye on how the system is using your card... some cardreaders aren't using that "chip" method yet since not everyone had their card with a chip. It's kinda causing a rift between signing and using a PIN.

And now that I think about it, I can't remember my PIN for my Visa now.