DevBlog

At a recent seminar on credit cards and fraud, Visa said that brick and mortar stores are more popular targets for criminals than online databases. The story, reported by CNet, says,

Majka had a chilling message for the operators of traditional brick-and-mortar businesses. The perception may be that criminals target online stores to steal credit card data, but the reality is that traditional retailers are more popular targets, he said. That's because sellers in offline transactions usually swipe the actual credit card.

For years, when talking to people that have concerns about using their credit card online I've said, "Do you eat out?" Everyone has always said, "Yes." My next question is, "So, let me understand this...you'll go to a restaurant, eat a nice meal, and then hand your credit card to the waiter, who takes the card away to a back room to run it through and pay your bill, but you won't use the card online." Again, the response has always been, "I never thought about that." So, be careful how you use your card and always...always review your credit card statements.