The World’s First Biometric Credit Card
With identity theft growing to be the number one crime in the U.S., the banking and credit card industries have been looking for a way to increase security for their customers. That security has been revolutionized thanks to the efforts of a company known as SmartMetric, Inc.
SmartMetric has invented the technology that will allow banks and credit unions to “100% guarantee” that the person using the card is the owner. By using nano technology, SmartMetric has created a fingerprint scanner that fits inside a credit card. In order for the card to work, it must read the fingerprint of the authorized user. The owner then becomes the key to the card, effectively getting rid of signatures and PIN-based transactions altogether.
As we saw from the credit card prank post, the companies aren’t paying attention to what we’re doing with our cards. Perhaps this technology will provide us with a little more security. I’m hesitant to say that it’s 100%, though. It’s entirely possible to lift someone’s fingerprints off of a glass or solid surface. Ever seen “Charlie’s Angels?” The premise is, of course, fiction; however, they got into the top secret room with “fingerprints” they lifted and made into a replicated adhesive. So what if I’m paranoid about having my identity stolen?
I will say that it’s with good reason. I’ve never had it happen before - knock on wood - but I’ve had a roommate steal checks from me and what a pain that was to clean up! Not to mention the fact that I work at a credit union and I see if happen almost every day! I’ve also had the distinct pleasure to listen to a lecture given by Frank Abagnale, Jr. He’s the guy that the movie “Catch Me if You Can” was based on. He was a con artist, who before his 19th birthday conned people out of millions of dollars. He pretended to be a pilot, a lawyer, and a doctor - three pretty high tech professions - and managed to fake his way through them. Then he joined the FBI after he was apprehended and helped create a lot of the security measures we have in place today for the banking industry.
Anyway, in this lecture he said that he could take a bag full of cross-cut shredded paper (supposed to be one of the best shredders out there) and put it back together again in under an hour. For me, lifting my fingerprints to use my card wouldn’t be a stretch for someone like Frank who has plenty of experience in such matters. By the way, Frank did say that the confetti shredders were the absolute best because he couldn’t put those back together at all.
I’ll grant you that these Biometric cards will be a lot safer than what is currently in place. And the technology involved in such a venture is quite exciting. Progress really is a wonderful thing most of the time. I still can’t bring myself to think of it as 100% secure, though. I doubt we’ll ever really achieve such a thing.
What are your thoughts?
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