Smarter than Smart Cards

You may or may not have noticed it, but more and more credit cards have an EMV chip, in addition to the magnetic stripe. The reason for this change is that starting October 1, 2015, banks that due not issue smart cards and merchants that do not accept them have an increased risk that they will be forced to bear the cost of fraudulent transactions. EMV chips eliminate the possibility of easily copying a credit card with only a magnetic stripe.

Unfortunately, criminals are smart and they adapt. The new cards do not eliminate many other types of credit card fraud that have become prevalent, and they do nothing to secure online transactions. The following video highlights the problems with the new credit cards:

For more details on the new credit card system see 8 FAQs about EMV credit cards and FAQ: What you need to know about chip-embedded credit cards.

October 19, 2015: For a related article see X-Ray Scans Expose an Ingenious Chip-and-Pin Card Hack.

About Mark Mizen

I have over twenty years professional experience in all aspects of photography and digital imaging. I am Chair of the ISO WG5 TG2 committee responsible for physical properties and durability of imaging material and am currently with HID Global working on systems for security printing for IDs, licenses, and credit cards. Previously, I was Director of Digital Development at Creative Memories from 2009 to 2012 and was responsible for the Creative Memories digital products and services. I also established and directed the Creative Memories Technology Center, which evaluated new products prior to product introduction, assisted with production difficulties, and provided technical information to support product sales.

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