Pin number and Card in Wallet Idea

[Board Game Geek]

Just had a thought whilst hunting for my wallet with my cards, around the house.

If I had lost it in the street, and someone had found it, they may have got up to some mischief and tried to use the cards.

So why not make it easier for them ?

Include a post it note in your wallet, with something like :

Barclays : 193x : 30K bal
Lloyds : 293x : 20 K bal
Visa : 331x : 25K limit
127 326 439

Then, when someone discovers your wallet, not only do they have your pin numbers, but also an idea of how much you have on your cards.

If they are an honest person, they'll hand it in to the Police.

But if they are dishonest, they'll rush straight to the various cash points to try the numbers.

They will think that you are trying to be clever, by hiding the last digit in a 3 letter code.

But that won't stop them, because they will try 1931, 1932, and 1937. After all, with 30K in the account, they've got nothing to lose by trying, and their greed will get the better of them.

Of course, none of these are the real PIN numbers at all. They are all made up.

The point of the exercise is that, assuming there is a period between when you lose the wallet, and when you realise you have lost, you might be frantic with worry.

It may be a comfort then to know that your enticement to a genuine thief will result in him or her locking your cards for you, when the cash machine swallows or deactivates the card after 3 failed attempts.

[threaded]

In the scheme of things having your card stolen and used is a low percentage.

The bad guys usually have a feed from a machine and clone your card. They do this either by attaching something to the front of a real ATM, or they set up their own specially programmed ATM, or in shops they replace the card reader with one of their own.

They did one in Denmark last year where the shop cleaners were replacing the card readers with specially programmed ones at night, letting them gather data all day, and then swapping them back out the next chance they got.

Contrary to bank propaganda chip'n'pin doesn't stop such things, just makes production of the clone a little more difficult and use a little more restricted.

And this is were I come to your idea. One style of chip'n'pin scam uses a clone card that answers positive to any number entered. So they don't need the pin at all.

[wobbegong]

A clever thief wouldn't rush to the cash point with your cards, he would use them to buy goods and services (e.g. mobile phone top-ups) online or over the phone, where you don't need to quote a PIN.

[daviejones]

I recall a story where a customer threatened to take Woolwich to the Financial Ombudsman.

Apparently, he had written his PIN number on the wall next to the cash machine at the Woolwich Contact Centre, in Clacton as he could never remember his number.

The reason he was complaining was the fact that Woolwich had painted the wall and now he could not get any money out!!!

[Money Money Money]

I used my Amex in a supermarket last night and she asked me to sign instead of pin, still happens!

[TimberWolf]

It's a cute idea, but I suspect most crims would give up on the second failed attempt. Still as long as you keep this method secret it might work for you

[HairyArsedBloke]

Just had a thought whilst hunting for my wallet with my cards, around the house.

If you had a regular and safe place* to keep your wallet when you get home you would not have go hunting for it and have time to come up with these ideas.

*I have to do this with my keys and I have to extended it to more items as I get old and senile.

[Andy2]

I just hope that potential card thieves are not reading this thread

[Board Game Geek]

Why is that Andy2?

The chance of a specific potential card thief reading this thread, and me losing my wallet in his vicinity, is quite remote to be honest. Even if it did happen, they are not going get very far with the fake codes, so I don't see what the problem is.

[TimberWolf]

I submit that he's not referring to a specific thief and you personally, but to the method and its utility generally. If this technique were widely used and known about, it would be useless init.