Be paranoid (was) RE: [at-l] Debit Cards

[nealb@midlandstech.com (William Neal)]

I have a friend (glad I don't know how to contact him, or his real name) who
told me that he could get your PIN no matter what you did.  He then proved
to us that he could.  Glad he's a FRIEND.

Actually they do things like watch how your fingers are moving and figure
out what you are typing in.  Then they try the card here and there.  Usually
they hit on the correct PIN very quickly.  Some even operate in "gangs".
I've heard of one that used a "nun" and one that used kids.

YOUR INFORMATION IS ABOUT AS SAFE AS A FRESH HOT PIZZA AT A SHELTER FILLED
WITH LD HIKERS. ;-)

Never, ever let anyone too near you while you type in a number.  And hide
what you are doing.

Never, ever use a "likely" number for VI-PINs.  For example, don't think
just because even your spouse does not know your real birth year, that it is
safe to use that for your PIN.  Use likely PINs only for something totally
unimportant.  Never for cash.  Never to get into your work accounts when
you're away from home.

I use a friend's nickname, and add certain numbers for most of my
unimportant PINs or passwords.  Not even she knows that.

William, The Turtle

Just because you are paranoid, does not mean someone is not following you.
-----Original Message-----
From: Slyatpct@aol.com [mailto:Slyatpct@aol.com]
Sent: Monday, December 16, 2002 12:03 PM
To: mmmorganlady@yahoo.com; at-l@backcountry.net
Subject: Re: [at-l] Debit Cards


--
[ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]
In a message dated 12/16/2002 11:46:34 AM Eastern Standard Time,
mmmorganlady@yahoo.com writes:

> My husband left his card in the ATM in Philadelphia on a Saturday and some
> guy--who we realized afterwards, was sitting there waiting for someone to
> do something like that--took out $700.00 from our checking account.  The
> bank gave us the money back after 10 days!  I don't know if it was due to
> the fact that it is a debit card, but also can be used as a Visa card?  It
> is called a "check card".
>

I have the same type Visa, debit/check card.  What I'm wondering is how they
took $700 from your checking account, wouldn't they would need to know your
pin number for cash withdrawals or money back?  Or did they charge $700
worth
of merchandise where a pin number isn't needed?

Sly