Credit Card / Debit Card Fraud Protection

This is something that i have split from the thread about VISA debit cards.

  • In the case of some VISA debit cards, the customer’s name is not printed on the card - i assume this is standard procedure for regular debit cards. In that context the question arises whether a signature on a card without printed name is useful or potentially harmful.

  • Whenever a credit card or debit card is used at a store and, instead of a signing a slip, the customer enters a PIN into an electronic device at the store, what happens with that information (the PIN)?

  • What is the normal procedure to follow in Taiwan if a credit card / debit card is lost or stolen?

  • A question for anybody who’s had to deal with a stolen or lost credit card or debit card in Taiwan: what did you do and how was the problem resolved?

Here is what has been posted about this issue so far:

[quote=“Enigma”]As for the name on the card: Some cards show a name and some don’t. Also, refuse to sign the back of the card if requested to do so. I simply write in “Ask for ID” on the strip. Signing simply gives anyone who finds your card, if lost, an opportunity for fraud.

You can use any of the Visa debit cards for store or restaurant purchases in Taiwan. Some banks will send you a separate statement of your charges (debits). You don’t need to pay for these billings. They are deducted automatically from your ATM account.

One last point: If using your Visa debit card for store purcheses (as opposed to “in bank” use) don’t enter your pin in their little keypad. This information is not linked to the bank but goes instead to their in-house data storage software where now your bank card and pin are available for anyone with access to their network. Also, they have your signature on the purchuse invoice. If required to do so to complete the transaction, refuse and get some ATM funds.[/quote]

Reply:

[quote=“housecat”]I didn’t see any problem with signing it. In the States, on one even looks. A clerk did once and asked me about it because I hadn’t signed it, so I signed it on the spot. She said, “Umm. Okay, thanks,” and took the card!

Here, my signature is NOTHING like anything that a Taiwanese could come up with, so maybe it IS actually more safe to have signed it, right?[/quote]

Reply to the reply:

[quote=“Enigma”]You may be right as to Taiwan but I just see no reason in signing it. I can only see a downside, especially when traveling to an English speaking country. Your right about nobody looking at it anyway. Not once have I been asked for ID, even though it says to do so on the card. However, there can be that one instance that some scofflaw can use your signature to your disadvantage.

EDIT: mmmmm? Just got to thinking that maybe that’s why some banks have stopped putting a name on the card. It makes it easier for a crook to know your name and use a signature to defraud. Just a ponder.[/quote]

Good info, i have a question.
I only have a Debit Card (ChinaTrust), and use this for all payments if i dont have cash on me. The card does not have my name printed, but as the chip protection.
Although, when i use the card to pay, i am rarely asked to enter a PIN, just sign and proceed.

IMHO, signing is just rubbish, as no one ever checks the signature, or asks for ID. Besides, my card is not even signed at the back!

My question relates to, if my card is lost/stolen, and someone clears out my funds, am i insured by the bank against this fraud?
I.e. Will the bank refund my money to me ?

Also, i never bothered getting a Cr Card, as this just means more cards and more accounts, just add to the confusion and crazyness of having to deal with a bank that does not offer online banking in English.
Would it be better to use Cr cards (China Trust) for payments, and settle the accounts monthly, with a transfer from Debit to Credit Card?
Can the transfer from Credit to Debit Card be done via ATM (China Trust)?

Thnks in advance!

If your card is stolen, you are probably not going to be held responsible by the bank. Here is what I understand of the possibilities.

If you have lost a debit/credit Visa card, report it immediately to the bank and it will be replaced and the old card deactivated. Usually, a 100 NT fee will be charged. If the bank won’t refund any improper charges to your new card account, report it to Visa. At lease in the states you have two billing cycles time gap to make the report “in writing” to get a charge back. This may be different under Taiwan law, AFAIK. A scammer used my friends account in Taiwan to charge some extra stuff to his Visa credit card and he did this procedure from here and got the charge back within a few days of the incident. Worth a try.

If it’s just a debit card and you have not contributed to the loss (like writing your pin number on a slip kept with the card) the bank will refund any loss and the loss will fall on the vendor who did not ask for photo ID.

The internet banking at China Trust sucks. They claim that they have an English version at chinatrust.com.tw but clicking the tab just gets you company information in English with no apparent way to sign onto the account in secret codes that they give you. When I go back to complain, I am going to take my laptop and 3G card with me so she can show me how the hell to get to the English version for actual use.

Another issue that came up in my family is sending a courtesy card to my daughter in the states, loaded with the four digit PIN. Don’t send the card and PIN together for obvious reasons. Send the card only. After they email you that the package has arrived, send the PIN by email in code.
ie; Digit one is the 4th digit in your mother’s year of birth, the 2d digit is the combined number of children born to aunt Beth and to aunt Suzy. Look at your cell phone. the 3rd digit is the number associated with your older brother’s first letter in his nickname.
and so on.

My son in law is a security freak and head of internet security at a chain of banks in the U.S. This was his suggestion and it works. I use it but it seems a little over the top to me.
I

So I think this is the best thread to ask in.

If my card is stolen, or my internet banking hacked and someone drains my account, what protections do I have? Does the bank legally have to pay us back what was stolen if it wasn’t blatantly our fault (like logging into online banking on a public computer)? Are there any laws pertaining to this? Do the banks have insurance that covers the loss of customer funds due to incidents that were not directly the banks fault?

If there is no such protection offered by the banks or the law, what can we do other than increase our online banking security?

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