🚀 go-pugleaf

Surely those of us that know about the banks electronic security measures (and
often shocking lack of them) have known that this could happen at any time. There
must be hundreds of variations on this scam!

Unfortunately the banks are not interested in security. I was involved at one
time in a project with the UK banks to provide point-of-sale use of swipe cards
(the project/company etc will remain nameless). The project provided a high
degree of security (physical and electronic) to prevent fraud on the part of the
retailer and the customer (and to some extent the bank!). The banks were simply
not interested in bearing the cost of the fraud protection, they wanted to pass it
on to someone. The project collapsed!

A similar system with much poorer security exists called SWITCH. Despite having a
card to access this system (it's just my bank card), I will not use it! Typing my
PIN in at a terminal in a supermarket knowing that it is not properly secure, even
with  the added security of those bits of paper banks love, is not something I am
willing to do.

The only security a bank customer has is the security of his PIN. The banks do
say "TREAT THIS CARD LIKE CASH" (from an ATM here); they don't provide advice on
keeping your PIN safe though. The naivete of Joe Public is immense, as is
illustrated by password/PIN frauds; but the banks and others must have some duty
of care surely? Why don't they provide more advice on when to use your PIN and
when not to? How to prevent the guy behind you in the ATM queue from seeing your
PIN?


Simon Read
----------
Simon.Read@umist.ac.uk

Disclaimer: The above expresses my *personal* opinion. Not necessarily those of 
            any organisation I currently work for or have worked for in the past.