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Adam Kalsey

This is the blog of Adam Kalsey. Unusual depth and complexity. Rich, full body with a hint of nutty earthiness.

Security & Privacy

More silly credit card security

10 Oct 2006

After posting about the insecurity of credit card activation schemes, I remembered another pointless security "feature" that’s coming into vogue now. When I use my cards at some gas stations, I’m asked to enter my billing zip code.

Supposedly this is to keep the bad guys from using a stolen or lost card to buy gas. Credit cards don’t have a PIN number or any other secret code, so the use of a zip code was apparently dreamed up as a pseudo-secret code.

It seems to me that the most common way a physical card winds up in the hands of the bad guys is if it’s in a wallet that’s lost or stolen. And in that wallet, right next to the credit card, you can usually find a driver’s license. Which of course, has your zip code on it.

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