For something to be secure, by definition it needs to be traceable.
You can't just go up to someone, say "I am Z You owe me £35 for X which you bought yesterday" and expect them to give it to you, they need to know you are who you say you are. Which requires ID.
Originally Posted by IccleD Thats what it reads on the back of my Credit Cards, CVV2
As for this artical, brilliant. I'm someone that spends most of my money using a Card, either in shops or online (mostly online!)
I rarely carry Cash,(Coins or Notes), and I only get cash out when I've no other choice. It's so much simplier, and eaiser to track my funds!
I'm even shocked when I goto a website that doesn't take Credit Cards these days!
Might be a US thing, but i speak to merchants and banks daily and ive never heard CVV2
Ona side note you would be surprised how very little merchants actually ask for AVS and CV2 checks.
Most people that have it set up have a lower limit on it though, for example transactions over £200 will go through both but under and it wont.
Im surprised that banks/businesses arent more wary about 'customer not present' charges, like online retailers. Its easy enough to have someone elses card details and use them. However a lot of e-commerce sites are very careful, a few still arent.
I've never been asked for a CVV2 number anywhere but online. I thought that was the only place it was used.
What concerns me is the EFT transfers. I pay for a lot of things with only my bank account number and routing number, and the routing number is public information. Not sure what kind of protections there are on that.
I would like to touch a little more on the energy issue, Back in 05(IIRC) there was a huge black out in the midwest and ever few years in michigan a bad storm causes a blackout. The grocery store I used to work for grinds to a halt and would loose around 30,000$ and hour with no power as you can't process credit cards or even ring up now price sticker free items without power (let alone the american stables most of which are refridgerated). I'm not gonna get all doomsday or tin foil hat, but any major disruption to internet backbones or a mass power outtage could topple a cashless economy relatively fast. I think it's just spooky how much our society rely's on the 24/7 endless amount of cheap electricity, if the rolling blackouts in california are anything to prove, this infastructure is very fragile.
Originally Posted by Cthippo I've never been asked for a CVV2 number anywhere but online. I thought that was the only place it was used.
And on many phone transactions over here, though I've only heard it called the "security code". Plus there's an extra line of defence for online use that doesn't really seem to have caught on, Verified by Visa and the Mastercard equivalent, adding a password.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Article The presence of copper in the Swedish hills had put such a low value on the metal that a single copper piece could weigh several kilograms to be of any discernible value - certainly not something for your coin purse! Therefore, it became easier to just carry a note stating you had the piece than the piece itself.
The opposite happened over here, the old pre-decimal copper pennies became worth more as scrap metal than as the face value. Our modern "bronze" money is copper-plated steel.
Can anyone recommend any sources that expand on this subject (books, websites, etc)? This is really fascinating to me and I'd like to learn more about the technology of money.
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You can't just go up to someone, say "I am Z You owe me £35 for X which you bought yesterday" and expect them to give it to you, they need to know you are who you say you are. Which requires ID.
Traceable = secure but not totally private.
Untraceable = private but without a way to prove fraud or theft.
(or what Doug said)
I suspect that privacy is what will take the hit. (especially after the reactions to 9/11)
Might be a US thing, but i speak to merchants and banks daily and ive never heard CVV2
Ona side note you would be surprised how very little merchants actually ask for AVS and CV2 checks.
Most people that have it set up have a lower limit on it though, for example transactions over £200 will go through both but under and it wont.
Im surprised that banks/businesses arent more wary about 'customer not present' charges, like online retailers. Its easy enough to have someone elses card details and use them. However a lot of e-commerce sites are very careful, a few still arent.
What concerns me is the EFT transfers. I pay for a lot of things with only my bank account number and routing number, and the routing number is public information. Not sure what kind of protections there are on that.