"kilikini" > wrote

> Nancy Young wrote:

>> My American Express information was stolen and used by
>> someone in a local store where no one took my card out of
>> my sight. I don't know about this swiping business, all they
>> need to know is printed right there on the card. I was
>> lucky I just happened to notice the charges piling up on my
>> card while it was still only $1700.

> I just saw a news report on this. All a criminal has to do is plug in a
> reader to the terminal using a machine and a USB cord.

Gotcha. I confess that I could pay more attention when I
hand over my card, I'm usually more concerned about bagging,
whatever else catches my attention, but I didn't see the guy do
anything funny.

> You can capture the credit card numbers and in some cases, the reader will
> record a person's pin if they're using a debit card. The news report was
> stressing the importance of using credit vs. debit this holiday season.

Debit cards do not offer enough protection for my taste. I
only use debit at the cash machine, even then I don't use them
just anywhere if I can help it, like the machine at the gas station.
Credit cards have so many more advantages, then you just pay
when the bill comes. Debit card actually attached to my bank
account? No thanks, that's too much exposure for me.

nancy