Just don't lose your card ;)
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I'm unsure about contactless myself - It seems to choose usability over security - yes there might be limits and it may occasionally ask for a pin but if it is used fraudulently I wonder how easy it will be to get your money back.
However there is also another worry - It seems there is a possibility of cards being scanned by cyber criminals, criminals trying to scan cards from a distance to steal data. There are already wallets available now with RFID blocking technologies, designed to avoid this type of situation.
I use it alot, mainly in supermarkets. People say "Oh I don't use contactless because it's not safe". It's still on the card so regardless of you using it or not, it defeats that statement.
That is also covered on the FAQ on the Visa website -
Quote:
Can a fraudster with a bogus contactless terminal steal money from my card by brushing up against me?
Today’s fraudsters are on the hunt for full card details. The only information that could possibly be read from a contactless card is the card number, the expiry date and in some instances, the cardholder name – the same information that’s available on the front of your card.
On its own this information is simply not useful for today’s fraudsters – who also need to get their hands on the really sensitive information, such as the CVV code (the three digit security code on the back of your card), PIN numbers, Verified by Visa passcodes, card security codes, billing addresses and other hidden security data. None of these essential details can be read from a contactless card.
To be honest I haven't really used Contact less on my card a lot I usually use my phone instead as it's always in my hand over my card, and has a NFC sim card as well as the phone being NFC itself so it makes so much sense. However, I've been hearing that some people are being taken out of pocket because of NFC systems (NFC - Near Field Communication, the technology in your contacless cards) whereby, people are walking past picking up the NFC signals and taking money from users banks, just because they're within x distance.
Contactless Card Fraud makes up an absolutely minuscule percentage of all card fraud (inb4 "thts cuz der nt many of them!! > http://www.theukcardsassociation.org...ss_statistics/ = 69 million in the uk),and if you're stupid enough to lose your card then 1) you deserve it, 2) the bank will still compensate you for everything.
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Obviously this is different if your card is stolen, but it's really irritating how melodramatic people get about contactless cards. I've had mine for 2 years+ and have had no problems with it and find it a fantastic time saving tool.
One of our lady members at work, works for Lloyds Bank in the fraud department and she says that they're pretty quick to spot any fraudulent activity. For example if you spend £5 a day in Starbucks at about 8:30am then all of a sudden you're spending £30 every half hour at every Starbucks around then they can kind of see that it's not you that's spending the money and will contact you and cancel the card etc.