Welcome back!

So it finally hit me as well. Two days ago my bank called me and informed me that they suspected my credit card data had been used illegally.

I once heard that if you want your credit card to be locked, fill up your tank at a gas station and then go and buy some sneakers. Supposedly that’s a typical behaviour for someone who found a credit card, and it seems there’s something to it.

Well, that had to happen at some point, right? I know what some of my friends will be saying – “you and all your online activities”, “you’re too careless with your personal data” and all that. And that as a former ePayment expert…

So, am I going to change my credit card use? Most likely not. Most of my online transactions are with (rather) trustworthy partners like Amazon.com, or they go through PayPal or similar services that hide my credit card data.
It’s just much more likely that my credit card data was acquired by some dumpster diver in a Starbucks in the US or that small mexican restaurant I’ve been dining in Denmark lately. POS is still the main point of careless credit card data management.

Actually, most of the fraud has to be attributed to the fact that the credit card issuers simply don’t care enough. Smart card based authentication has been available for more than 10 years, but credit card companies fear that taking away the possibility to just enter the card number will lower their transaction volume (they’re probably right).
So we’ll have to stick with the hassle and they’ll gladly cover the risk, just because it’s cheaper.

Weird world, isn’t it?

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