stone-age habits: no pins

we're one of those odd couples who have not opted to do the debit card thing. it's not that we don't trust new-fangled ways, it's that we tried to do a debit card twice and both times something got very screwed up so we said, "hey -- this isn't what the universe wants us to do!"

now i've run across an article which says Debit card thieves get around PIN obstacle -- all you hep cats who do the debit thing are prime for getting your bread ripped off, daddy-o. so put on your peepers, cool it, and read, then you'll be in orbit.

"...In recent weeks, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Washington Mutual and Citibank have all reissued debit cards after detecting fraudulent activity...many merchants incorrectly store PIN information they should be destroying...Consumers might be surprised to learn that their PIN numbers are stored by merchants they shop at, and can be stolen from merchants by hackers. While storing PINs is against network rules, many retailers inadvertently store the information..."

"...consumers concerned about the scam should avoid PIN-based retail transactions, and chose instead to make signature-based, credit-card-style transactions..."

"Debit card theft can be far more severe than credit card...different consumer protections apply. Account holders are liable for only up to $50 of credit card fraud — but consumers can be liable for the entire balance of their bank account after debit card fraud...money is instantly missing...can lead to bounced checks..." (information from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11731365/)

this gig's bad news -- maybe you should think about splitsville!

i'm feeling -- cool, man, real cool ...
Beatlab:Digital -- Turning Point (featuring Piri)