Starting next year all Thai banks must switch to more secure ATM cards, according to the Bank of Thailand.
With skimming of customer accounts a perennial problem, banks will be required to issue so-called “chip and PIN” cards, which rely on a small embedded chip for identification instead of a magnetic strip. Purchases from vendors with compatible technology will require a PIN code be entered to complete the transaction. The cards will still include magnetic stripe for vendors without chip readers.
The system is less vulnerable to skimming technology, whereby criminals attach fake card readers to ATM machines to read card data and monitor keypads, typically by camera, to record PIN numbers. Chip and PIN cards are much more difficult to copy.
For now, people are reminded to poke at those card slots and cover their keypad entries to foil would-be skimmers.
Related:
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