one of the newest methods of payments on the high street; todays debit and credit cards allow you to pay upto £30 just by waving your card in front of a card reader, no pin needed.

so what can go wrong? on tonights itv show how safe is your money an it security expert showed how just by bumping into someone with a mobile device with a vard reader app they had put together they were able to get enough information from the contactless card in the victims pocket to then go and use the card details online to make purchases above £30. you might say but hang on what about verified by visa , card security code (not sure is they got the code from the swipe i must say they implied not) well amazon don’t actually ask for the security code and do not use verified by visa or 3d secure at the checkout. a number of companies don’t as its perceived in the ecommerce world as a potential reason for abandoned baskets which is bad for the retailer. it seems that a fair number of customers can never recall the numbers they set up so will abandon their shopping basket ay checkout. retailers that use the verification process are actually protected by the card issuing companies if a fraudulent transaction is found to have taken place, they are not covered if this process is not undertaken.

i have heard a director of an online retailer actually say the fraud levels they were operating at were below industry averages and security and checking was too tight!

fraud involving contactless cards is a new type of fraid and last year it totalled  around £2.8 million where as fraud involving telephone and online transactions totalled £170 million.

there are now wallets and purses out there that are encased in metal to stop reading of contactless cards by people using available card readers. imagine being on a packed tube, or walking down oxford street and a person in your carriage or walking down the road with one of these devices. you would have no idea until you next look at your account online.