There are two types of these skimming devices: internal and external. The external devices can be discovered by most anyone because it is visible on the outside of the device that you are using to pay. If you have a suspicion that there may be a skimmer at a bank or business you should inform that location in order to stop the crook from getting anyone's information.
Internal devices are harder to discover because they are...well...internal. As skimming has become more prolific criminals have gone out of there way to place devices on the inside of POS (point-of-sale) devices. The businesses themselves are your only line of defense to stop your information from being obtained.
I have discovered that there is a way to prevent the crooks from achieving their goal of collecting your debit card number and PIN. Most debit cards have VISA and Mastercard logos on them. This means that they are credit cards too. This means that when you make a purchase at a store and they ask for your debit card number all you have to do is press "cancel" and you will be given the option of canceling the purchase or processing the transaction as credit. Without your PIN the crooks can't use your debit card to obtain cash from your bank account. Checking on your account on a regualr basis is best way to make sure that your account is not being taken advantage of.
I recall hearing from a merchant that when you use a credit card they get access to info about you (name, billing address, etc) that they can then use IF they choose for later use (mailings). But when using a debit card, they don't get that same info about you. Having another entity having demographic info about me made me think that it could increase my risk being a victim of identify theft, so i started increasing my use of debit transactions.
ReplyDeleteThat is not true. Merchants are not privy to any information other that the information that is contained on the magnetic strip. The magnetic strip only contains the information on the front of your credit card. It is present so that they can verify that the information that is used matches that information on the credit card (some criminals re-encode cards with stolen information).
ReplyDeleteWhen the credit card is used at a business the point-of-sale (POS) device uses your credit card information to send the number to the appropriate bank or credit card company and verify that the card is valid. Credit card numbers do have a system to them. The first 6 numbers on a credit are what identify which bank or credit institution is contacted so that the merchant does not even have to contact them. The system identifies it and automatically sends out the transaction information.
All the merchant receives on the reply is whether or not the transaction is approved. All the data that is sent back and forth is encrypted not easy to obtain. The merchants don't even keep the information in the long run. They just keep transaction numbers for their records so that they get paid.