[Gllug] re: credit cards / chip and pin

[t.clarke]

Is the PIN really stored on the magstripe !!??

So what does the chip do then  ?

I have never understood why the PIN isn't
a) longer
b) at least convertible into a word by having keypads in the old telephone
style with three letters on each number-key

Remembering a word is much easier than a number.

Incidentally, I now have some many different passwords/pins for various
services, the only way I ca keep track of them is to have an encrypted
text file containing a list of them. At least that way I only have to remember
one bloody password !

With regard to signatures, Banks have only themselves to blame for a lot of
credit card fraud when they insist on giving you such an absurdly small area
upon which to record your signature.  Mine, in real life, takes up pretty
well an area nearly the whole size of the card. Compressing it into the silly
'stripe' given is nigh on impossible - so no wonder it looks very little like
the real thing.

Tim

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