One Step Ahead: More Secure Credit Cards: It’s in the Chip |
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March 22, 2016, Volume 62, No. 27 |
Another tip in a series provided by the
Offices of Information Systems & Computing and Audit, Compliance & Privacy
You may be aware of recent hoopla surrounding new “chip” credit cards, or maybe you might have received one from your bank. But what does this mean?
In America, the credit and debit card industry is moving away from magnetic stripe cards to a newer EMV or “chip” card, though other markets like Europe have been using these cards for years. EMV (Europay, MasterCard, Visa—three major issuers) cards contain integrated circuitry or a chip that stores account information, though they also have magnetic stripes for backward compatibility with older point-of-sale (POS) terminals. Chip cards are more secure because it is much harder to clone the account information versus old-style magnetic stripe cards.
Chip cards come in two flavors: chip + signature and chip + PIN. Chip + signature transactions still require your signature either on a paper slip or on a POS terminal screen, and are much more commonly issued in America. The rarer (in America) Chip + PIN card requires the entry of a PIN on the POS terminal—the transaction process is somewhat akin to entering a PIN for ATMs.
In October 2015, liability for fraudulent credit card transactions transferred from card issuers to merchants if they did not install terminals capable of processing chip transactions. This is the reason card issuers began issuing chip cards to consumers. Chip cards make it harder for thieves to steal account information but they do not guard against hacked store account databases.
Despite the introduction of chip cards, many merchants have not upgraded their terminals. The next time you’re in a store and unsure which method to use, try swiping your card first. If you need to dip, which means inserting your card into the terminal, push your card chip first into the bottom of the terminal and keep it there until the screen tells you to remove the card. Enter your PIN if you’re directed to do so. Soon, you’ll be doing more dipping and less swiping as merchants replace their POS systems.
For additional tips, see the One Step Ahead link on the Information Security website: www.upenn.edu/computing/security/
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