With risks to credit card management and security and constantly evolving scams, companies continue to seek new innovative ways to enhance consumer safety.
US Department of Justice data show that the average amount stolen per 2012 card was 399 dollars from around 5.550.000.000 dollars stolen around the world, a huge amount of money that certainly serves as an incentive.
Photo cnet.com
The recent Target violation has shown that credit cards are at the top of the hackers' preferences, which can lead to significant financial losses, and as reported by the Consumer Bankers Association, re-issuance of cards at risk has already cost over 172 million dollars.
Following such incidents, MasterCard's announcement came on Tuesday, which said it was working with Syniverse, a mobile operator, to minimize unauthorized purchases made with stolen plastic.
The two companies already have a pilot opt-in system that allows users to do a credit card transaction only when they have their mobile device in place to confirm a specific geographic location.
Service providers then cross both the credit card and mobile card positions at the time of the transaction and if the transaction coincides, the transaction proceeds normally. Otherwise, if the card is in Toronto, for example, and the smartphone in London, the transaction should be questioned.
Joe DiFonzon, Managing Director of Syniverse Technology, told the Guardian:
Once a mobile phone is connected to the telephone network, we can see the location of a user within milliseconds.
The technology will benefit both MasterCard and its customers, making it more difficult for criminals to use stolen or cloned credit cards.
MasterCard says it will offer prepaid data packets for popular destinations so customers are not charged for data roaming even if they are not in their own country.
George is still wondering what he is doing here….
