[lug] OT: Credit Cards w/ Chips

[Bear Giles]

I don't know if debit cards, per se, ever got legal protection but the
branded Visa debit cards do have the same fraud protection policies as
respective credit cards. It's contractual, not statutory, but it is still
protection.

The big difference is the old "possession is 9/10th of the law" saying. If
someone steals my CC info and maxes out my credit card I'm not able to use
the card for awhile (and this could be a pain with automatic payments) but
life goes on. I have the money in question.

If someone steals my debit card info then I might be unable to pay my
mortgage and utility bills for months. The bank has the money in question.
Getting reimbursed in two months won't help if I need it to pay the rent
this month.

On Fri, May 15, 2015 at 2:54 PM, William D. Knoche <bill.knoche at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Walmart in Lafayette, Target in Superior, and Home Depot in Louisville are
> all places I have my "chipped" card in the chip/card reader recently.
> It is indeed a small step in the right direction and it only took 15 years
> to roll out. It is however still quite inadequate. Practical solutions,
> however, are yet to be devised. A next step might be a password or
> reasonable length pin - something you have, something you know. And
> certainly not a 3 digit code printed on the card itself... and biometrics
> turned out to be a very undesirable method.
>
> I am on my third card this year. But I put up with it because I never
> carry cash (at least not more than $20), I will not have a debit card, and
> I never write checks (ok, online bill pay does write checks for me...). The
> object is to pick the most secure payment mechanism that is accepted at the
> most places which if compromised someone else is liable for.
> I also use multiple accounts. My primary accounts are never used to write
> checks, make payments, etc - I only use them to transfer money to other
> accounts at other institutions which only contain enough cash to cover the
> checks (or online bill pay)  written against them. It is sometimes
> inconvenient but it does make it somewhat more difficult for the thieves.
>
> Credit cards or more like a blank promissory note.
> Debit cards on the other hand are the whole wallet - they have the actual
> cash. Once compromised everything in the wallet is gone with no
> traceability and no credit protection act to protect the consumer.
> Gift cards and payment cards are like debit cards but constrained by the
> amount stored on them. For many this is probably the way to go - anonymous
> and limited exposure.
>
> --bill
>
>
> On 05/15/2015 12:36 PM, Maxwell Spangler wrote:
>
>> I received an Amazon/Chase VISA card recently with a chip on it.
>>
>> While I know this is not guarantee of my credit card's security, it's a
>> step in the right direction.
>>
>> However, I have yet to find an place where I can use it.
>>
>> Terminals with chip reader hardware exist at Target, King Soopers and
>> many other places where I shop, but when I stick my card in, I get no
>> response and have to swipe.
>>
>> Does anyone know anything about this?
>>
>> Posting here because this list has security aware people who may be able
>> to share some backstory about the enabling of chip cards in 2015.
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>>
>> --
>> Maxwell Spangler
>> ========================================================================
>> Boulder, Colorado, USA
>> http://www.maxwellspangler.com/ <http://www.maxwellspangler.com/pen>
>>
>>
>>
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>
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