Due to unawareness and misinformation, many people believe that the EMV chip in the card is used to trace their card. But fortunately, that is not the case. The EMV chip does nothing to protect or track your card. Nobody can trace any information by using an EMV card. Lets see what are emv chips in debit and credit cards
What Are EMV Chips In Debit And Credit Cards?
Many people confuse smart chips with EMV chips, and none are wrong in this. EMV chips are also called Smart Chips. EMV is a recent technology that is used in all cards these days. This technology was originally made for Europay, Mastercard, and VISA cards, hence the name EMV but many companies like Discover, American Express, and UnionPay have also started supporting this.
EMV chips were indeed made to make it harder for anyone to steal your card information, but they can in no way be used as a tracking device.
Before the EMV chips, the magnetic stripe on the back of your card used to hold your card number, making it fairly easy to steal. The EMV card generates a new card number, every time it is used which makes it secure so that the hackers cannot copy them.
The one-time-use codes are like the OTP numbers which we use in regular life. They expire after being used meaning they cannot be traced back to the account of the holder, effectively safeguarding the card number from being stolen and fraudulently used. The chip can in no way act as a tracking device as a new unique code is generated with every purchase making the earlier codes redundant.
Can a Emv Chip In Debit And Credit card be hacked?
There is nothing that cannot be hacked if the hacker sets their mind to it. The same is with EMV cards. Though with this technology, their security has increased, it is still possible to hack them.
Hackers were attracted to mag stripes because they included specific account information, particularly the card number. It made it easier to clone and duplicate the stripes.
EMV chip cards are made differently. The card’s EMV chip generates unique numbers for each transaction, making it impossible to track. The numbers can’t be used again once they’ve been utilized. This makes it difficult for the hackers to hack any card, even if they managed to trace your transaction history, as the numbers obtained are useless.
That implies that even if a hacker can trace your transaction history, the numbers they obtain are meaningless because they can’t be used again.
Hackers, on the other hand, employ a variety of techniques, including spear-phishing and social engineering. Hackers have developed new ways to fraud people by persuading them to give their chip card information over the phone or through a phishing website.
What are a chip-signature and chip-PIN?
These are two ways of approving a transaction by using an EMV card.
In the United States, chip and signature cards are the most common. To complete a transaction, the EMV payment procedure requires the cardholder to produce a signature, as credit cards did in the past. Chip-and-PIN is more common outside of the United States. To validate an EMV payment, the PIN feature requires a secret four-digit PIN code known only by the cardholder. It is a safer option.
Is there another way to track cards then?
For safety purposes, there is no known way for the general public to track a card.
Earlier, if you were traveling and using your card at an unknown location then your bank would have blocked your card to prevent potentially fraudulent activity. But now Visa’s new app called Visa Mobile Whereabouts Confirmation allows you to track your location using your phone. This system alerts the bank that you are physically present in the place of the transaction being processed and it is not someone else using your card. This prevents the bank from blocking your card to stop unexpected fraud.
This app can work if you share your location and have your phone with you all the time.
Conclusion
No matter the kind of card or technology you use, you cannot ever be 100% safe. There is no technology till now to track your lost debit or credit cards for security purposes. You have to take the basic precautions of not misplacing it and if it is stolen, you should immediately contact your bank and ask them to block your card from further activities.
What are some ways to be safe from fraudulent activities?
To avoid this, never give someone your card information, such as the expiration date or CVV. Also, avoid shopping on websites that aren’t safe.
What to do when you have lost your card?
Look around.
Contact your bank.
Check your account for fraudulent activities.
Cancel automatic billing.
Follow up.
Monitor your account.
How to know if your card is a chip card?
A chip card has a small, rectangular chip embedded at the front on the left side of the card.
