From: norm 
Newsgroups: uk.finance uk.legal
Subject: Petrol Station rip off
Date: Sun, 22 Apr 2007 16:50:28 +0100

The recently exposed 'Sri Lankan' card scam seems to involve someone
scanning the magnetic strip and using a pin entry keyboard that has
been tampered with to get the pin.

I understand that there is a complex authentication and encryption
process between the chip on the card and the combined card-reader and
keypad which should mean that duplication or reading of the chip's
data is rather more difficult.

I therefore believe that I can greatly increase the security of any
transaction by wiping a damn great magnet over the magnetic strip on
my card, thereby destroying the data contained on it.

I would in future tell any retailer where a transaction relied on the
presence of the magnetic strip to get stuffed.

Discuss.