U.S. is Dumb About Smart Cards
The typical US consumer still swipes their card, credit or debit, with those same old black magnetic stripes. And, we hold our breath and hope they work, and don’t lead to erroneous (fraudulent) charges we have to defend. The rest of the world has switched to Smart cards, according to Peter Svensson, The Associated Press, in The Denver Post. “The problem with that black magnetic stripe on the back of your card is that it’s about as secure as writing your account information on a post-card”.
Svensson comments “Smart-cards (chip-based cards) can’t be copied, which greatly reduces the potential for fraud. Smart cards with built-in chips are the equivalent of a safe: They can hide information so it can be unlocked only with the right key”.
This begs the question, why is the US lagging in this technology? How do we re-vamp our system to promote smart-card transactions? Some experts maintain that it is a lack of demand by everyone from consumers and issuing banks to retail establishments. In essence, we don’t want the added security. This, of course, is just a smoke screen to obscure the underlying issue: no one wants to pay for it. Consumer don’t feel like they should pay for the technology (through higher card fees) even if it makes them safer (Haven’t we always been pretty safe?). Banks don’t want to pay to issue higher-cost cards with chip technology (they probably think it is cheaper to weather the costs of fraud – it is not). And retailers don’t want the added expense of new, more sophisticated equipment.
Opting Out of Financial Junk Mail
Opt Out of Financial Junk Mail
Your private data is bought and sold by junk-mailers without your knowledge, but you can easily opt out by calling 1-888-567-8688 or visiting www.OptOutPreScreen.com.
There are complete industries built around collecting, massaging and selling your data – your name, phone number, address, spending patterns, net worth, the age of your children, the magazines you buy, etc. Companies buy bits of your privacy so that they can knowledgeably market products to you that you are likely to purchase.
To minimize the amount of your personal information bought and sold on the data market, begin “opting out”. Opting out is the process of notifying organizations that collect your personal information to stop sharing it with other organizations. “Pre-approved” credit card offers (i.e., financial junk mail) are a major source of identity theft. Those mailers give thieves an easy way to set up credit card accounts in your name without your consent. They spend money on the card and default on the balance, leaving you with the mess of proving that you didn’t make the purchases. The solution is to opt out of receiving pre-approved credit, home loan and insurance offers.
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