Archived Found this in a thrift shop

[RedCashier]

I was in my local thrift shop today and I stumbled across this item. From what I gathered this was supposed to be used for some kind of EMV Target Visa card? Copyright dates on the box are from 2001, I was wondering if anyone knew anything about this?

 

[Barcode]

Cool!

 

[bab5crusade]

We had the technology to prevent the hack last November, but Credit Card companies and retailers refused to do so. Shame.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

I still have mine. It's was state of art at one time. The red card had a computer chip in it that worked with the reader. It was a smart coupon device. Spot had stopped making the red cards with chips, a few years ago.

 

[wokkawokka]

So instead of typing in your card number to pay, you just slid it in the reader?

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

So instead of typing in your card number to pay, you just slid it in the reader?

Just slide the special chip card in the reader.

 

[wokkawokka]

Well that seems...redundant. I can see why it never really caught on, lol.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

Well that seems...redundant. I can see why it never really caught on, lol.

This reader was created way before smartphones & tablets. Computers were towers & not laptops.

 

[bab5crusade]

Well that seems...redundant. I can see why it never really caught on, lol.

It's not redundant. If we didn't had these smart cards. We wouldn't had this hacking issue would not be big as an problem.

"U.S. banks rely on credit cards with magnetic strips, which can be easily reproduced by thieves, while European banks have issued millions of more modern "smart cards" that are embedded with computer chips. Smart cards encrypt transaction information, require thieves to know the cardholder’s PIN, and can generate one-time-only passwords.

Smart cards would not eliminate credit card fraud entirely. The technology can stop criminals from using stolen credit cards in checkout lines, but it would not prevent thieves from using cards online, where people type their credit card numbers to make purchases.

But if U.S. banks issued smart cards, "you would stamp out counterfeit cards," said David Robertson, publisher of The Nilson Report, a credit card industry trade publication.

“Anyone can make a counterfeit magnetic strip card, but a chip is far different,” Robertson said. “You’re not going to have crooks making chips.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/23/target-data-breach_n_4493569.html

 

[RedCashier]

Some more information on Chip cards

 

[CrazyTarget]

In the rest of the world, even Canada, you have Debit Cards with names like Maestro from Master Card and Visa Electron from Visa. Names Master Card and Visa are only for credit cards with PIN codes, also. There are no prepaid cards, and no gift cards from big companies like in the States... so there is not a lot of fraud like here. Majority of websites, when purchasing online, redirect you on the bank website uses to enter your pin code. In some countries you also have cards for shopping online only.

American economy is all about consumer spending, which is approx. 2 times more than in the European Union per household. Here is all about spending money, and making faster check out time, so you don't have to think too long if I really need that crap at my shopping basket. 😀