Credit card fraud

I had my credit card stolen in Geneva last week and was surprised that
the thief was able to use it at more than 10 stores without the PIN. I
thought the pin system was supposed to be unbreakable?

Not my money being stolen, but it is inconvenient being without a card
until I get a new one.

"John Stolz" wrote in message
...
I had my credit card stolen in Geneva last week and was surprised that the
thief was able to use it at more than 10 stores without the PIN. I thought
the pin system was supposed to be unbreakable?

Not my money being stolen, but it is inconvenient being without a card
until I get a new one.


In Switzerland a lot of establishments aren't wired up with chip and pin
terminals, so your card was processed for signature and your thief just
copied your squiggles.

Alec

Alec wrote:
"John Stolz" wrote in message
...
I had my credit card stolen in Geneva last week and was surprised that the
thief was able to use it at more than 10 stores without the PIN. I thought
the pin system was supposed to be unbreakable?

Not my money being stolen, but it is inconvenient being without a card
until I get a new one.


In Switzerland a lot of establishments aren't wired up with chip and pin
terminals, so your card was processed for signature and your thief just
copied your squiggles.

Alec


It's possible, but I travel often to switzerland and most vendors seem
to have pin terminals now, although less often than, say, in france.
Having said that, the card was stolen in France and used fraudulently in
Geneva, so maybe the scroats know outlets in Geneva which don't have pin
terminals.

"John Stolz" ha scritto nel messaggio
...
I had my credit card stolen in Geneva last week and was surprised that the
thief was able to use it at more than 10 stores without the PIN. I thought
the pin system was supposed to be unbreakable?

Not my money being stolen, but it is inconvenient being without a card
until I get a new one.

pls note that fraudolent use of credit cards is normal in internet. In
internet it is not possible to make security checks.
the person that accepts credit cards is obliged to ask for identification
documents.
If this person does not ask for ID then it is her own risk,

I use a trick now. I do not sign my credit cards.
It will be almost impossible for any thief to make a signature similar to
mine,

Make credence recognised that on Mon, 26 Mar 2007 13:03:08 GMT, "tile"
has scripted:


"John Stolz" ha scritto nel messaggio
...
I had my credit card stolen in Geneva last week and was surprised that the
thief was able to use it at more than 10 stores without the PIN. I thought
the pin system was supposed to be unbreakable?

Not my money being stolen, but it is inconvenient being without a card
until I get a new one.

pls note that fraudolent use of credit cards is normal in internet. In
internet it is not possible to make security checks.
the person that accepts credit cards is obliged to ask for identification
documents.
If this person does not ask for ID then it is her own risk,

I use a trick now. I do not sign my credit cards.
It will be almost impossible for any thief to make a signature similar to
mine,

Why can't the thief simply sign your card?
--
---
DFM - http://www.deepfriedmars.com
---
--

I use a trick now. I do not sign my credit cards.
It will be almost impossible for any thief to make a signature similar to
mine,

Why can't the thief simply sign your card?

Really DFM! I'm ashamed of you.
--
Tim C.

tile wrote on Mon, 26 Mar 2007 13:03:08 GMT:


t "John Stolz" ha scritto nel
t messaggio ...
?? I had my credit card stolen in Geneva last week and was
?? surprised that the thief was able to use it at more than
?? 10 stores without the PIN. I thought the pin system was
?? supposed to be unbreakable?
??
?? Not my money being stolen, but it is inconvenient being
?? without a card until I get a new one.

t pls note that fraudolent use of credit cards is normal in
t internet. In internet it is not possible to make security
t checks. the person that accepts credit cards is obliged to
t ask for identification documents.
t If this person does not ask for ID then it is her own
t risk,

Given the small size scribble on the back of my credit card, I
would thnk that practically any "signature" would be acceptable
if they bothered to look. In any case, you will usually get
charged whether or not you have signed the receipt. A particular
example is buying gas when no signature is asked at the pump. I
don't usually manage to write anything that looks like my usual
signature when I am asked to use one of those touch sensitive
pads either.


James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.comcast.not

tile wrote:
"John Stolz" ha scritto nel messaggio
...

I had my credit card stolen in Geneva last week and was surprised that the
thief was able to use it at more than 10 stores without the PIN. I thought
the pin system was supposed to be unbreakable?

Not my money being stolen, but it is inconvenient being without a card
until I get a new one.


pls note that fraudolent use of credit cards is normal in internet. In
internet it is not possible to make security checks.

I don't think the OP was talking about internet use of his
credit card number, but the physical theft of the card itself!

the person that accepts credit cards is obliged to ask for identification
documents.
If this person does not ask for ID then it is her own risk,

Really? How many restaurants and souvenir stores bother?
Very few, in my experience - perhaps they assume that my
American accent when I present an American credit card is
"identification" enough. (Odds are that any thief who stole
the card in a foreign country would not be a fellow-American.)

I use a trick now. I do not sign my credit cards.
It will be almost impossible for any thief to make a signature similar to
mine,

Pardon me if the logic of your "trick" escapes me! The
purpose of signing your card is for your own protection - to
make it difficult for any one else to forge your signature.
Although it is possible for the thief to also be an expert
forger, it's unlikely. However, if YOU don't sign your
credit card, what is to prevent the thief doing so? (In
which case his/her signature would agree with the one on the
card.)

James Silverton wrote:



Given the small size scribble on the back of my credit card, I would
thnk that practically any "signature" would be acceptable if they
bothered to look. In any case, you will usually get charged whether or
not you have signed the receipt. A particular example is buying gas when
no signature is asked at the pump. I don't usually manage to write
anything that looks like my usual signature when I am asked to use one
of those touch sensitive pads either.

Precisely why I vehemently refuse my bank's frequent
cheerful offers of a combination ATM/Debit-card to replace
the ATM card I specifically demanded when I opened my
account! True, I could contest fraudulent charges in any
case - the difference is that, with a debit card, the money
is no longer in my account and the bank may take its own
sweet time replacing it. If I dispute a credit card charge,
I simply don't PAY it! (True, the credit-card company may
impose interest on any unpaid portion of my account, but it
gets rescinded when the matter is resolved.)

EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque) wrote:

I use a trick now. I do not sign my credit cards.

Pardon me if the logic of your "trick" escapes me! The purpose of
signing your card is for your own protection - to make it difficult for
any one else to forge your signature. Although it is possible for the
thief to also be an expert forger, it's unlikely. However, if YOU don't
sign your credit card, what is to prevent the thief doing so? (In which
case his/her signature would agree with the one on the card.)

I think he was being facetious.