How Do EMV Chips Protect Identity?
How Do EMV Chips Protect Identity? Since EMV chips will soon be the norm, it’s a good idea to understand the basics and why there is a nationwide shift towards their use.
EMV chips are a hot topic these days in identity protection, but there’s still some confusion over what EMV chips are and how they work. This is partly because EMV chips aren’t as widely used yet. Since it will soon become the norm, it’s a good idea to understand the basics and why there is a nationwide shift towards EMV use.
What is EMV?
EMV stands for stands for Europay, MasterCard and Visa, and it is the new global standard for processing credit card payments. Unlike a magnetic strip card, these new cards come equipped with what looks like a computer chip, because that’s essentially what it is. Payment data is more secure on a chip-enabled payment card.
How do EMV Chips Protect Identity?
With credit card fraud on the rise, EMV is designed to mitigate the risk. Regular magnetic strip cards contain the information on the strip itself, whereas EMV data is transmitted during a card transaction and generates a unique code for every time. Even if a criminal manages to grab the code from the store, it’s mostly useless because it won’t work a second time. Even if a thief intercepted the information, they are not likely able to do anything with it.
Are they easy to use?
EMV cards are simple to use because you insert your card into an EMV reader rather than swipe your card in a traditional card reader. There has been a lot of hemming and hawing since EMV rollout, mostly due to the length of the transaction. Traditional magnetic strips are quick transactions, whereas EMV takes a few moments more, which has been the topic of criticism for new users. Some retailers bypass the chip altogether and still ask customers to swipe, which has led to much confusion.
Is it really that new?
Well, in the U.S., yes it is. EMV chip cards, however, have been used in Europe since 1994.
When is the rollout expected to be complete?
Retailers are already supposed to have chip-enabled terminals in place, but gas stations have until late in 2017 to update their hardware.
Don’t just rely on new technology. Stay on top of your identity protection.
Check your account activity weekly to monitor transactions. As soon as you see something suspicious, call the bank that issued your debit card and alert them to possible fraud. Many card issuers provide extra measures you can use to protect your card information when making online purchases. If you shop online often, check into that information.
If you have old cards stashed in a drawer, don’t just toss them in the trash, even if they’re closed accounts. Remember to call Legal Shred to have your old credit card statements, cards, and credit card offers properly destroyed so that thieves cannot get a hold of your information or attempt to open credit lines in your name.
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