Android Pay, Google Pay, etc.

[TickleMyElmo]

Are these apps safe to use? Which one is most secure if so. I'm just tired of carrying my big ole fallin apart wallet around. But I definitely don't want someone stealing my money.
Thanks all.

 

[petteyg359]

Are these apps safe to use? Which one is most secure if so. I'm just tired of carrying my big ole fallin apart wallet around. But I definitely don't want someone stealing my money.
Thanks all.

They're effectively just NFC links to credit cards. You have to add a card to be able to use them - they're not "wallets" to be loaded with prepaid funds. It is very convenient to just tap my phone on the card reader at the store rather than find the right card in my wallet, and it doesn't cost anything extra (to me, at least - I'm not sure if the stores end up paying a higher fee to processors).

 

[TickleMyElmo]

So it's safe then? I read about people carrying card readers in their pockets and all that jazz to where they can steal your card info if NFC is on.

 

[ihrsetrdr]

Just make sure screen lock is enabled, and your PIN code is not one of the typical consecutive number strings.

 

[TickleMyElmo]

I use a 1 minute autolock, fingerprint scanner and a kind of difficult PIN. I also use the fingerprint scanner as soon as I put it in my pocket. So, I'm guessing neither one is more secure than the other?
Samsung Pay, Android Pay, the iphone one, etc.? Just want to make extra sure. I guess it's not a super big deal since I have no money usually anyhow, lol.

 

[UltraTaco]

Sir, just buy a new wallet and since you say you don't carry a lot in it, that wallet should last you a good while. In my opinion if:

Just make sure screen lock is enabled, and your PIN code is not one of the typical consecutive number strings.

...you have to worry about these things, the technology is too green for everyday use. Credit card is not that much of inconvenience to dump it for "xyz pay"

 

[Alaric]

Another option for online shopping is a debit card specifically for that. When you're going to buy something, transfer just enough funds to it to cover your purchase. Otherwise just leave the minimum required to keep it active. That way if some company's database is hacked (pretty common) you don't have much at risk.

 

[petteyg359]

If somebody can get close enough to you while carrying a credit card terminal in their hands to trigger NFC on your phone while it's in your pocket, you've got bigger issues than the security of Google Pay, because they've knocked you out and taken your physical wallet and keys already. "RFID" paranoia is paranoia, and not the good kind.

 

[TickleMyElmo]

I am a paranoid schizophrenic so you hit the nail on the head there pettey.

 

[ihrsetrdr]

I'm glad this wallet thread came up, I've been worried about the wallet slipping out of my hip pocket. I rarely carry cash, really only need to carry 1 credit card and drivers license.

Going from this:





To this:

 

[Alaric]

There are criminals in Phoenix who scan/steal gift cards at WalMart just by standing near them. A friend of mine tried to buy a couple gift cards last Christmas and the 50 or so they checked came up as having already been registered and used, still hanging on the rack.

 

[UltraTaco]

genius men according to this project work! True way to Yad®!

 

[petteyg359]

There are criminals in Phoenix who scan/steal gift cards at WalMart just by standing near them. A friend of mine tried to buy a couple gift cards last Christmas and the 50 or so they checked came up as having already been registered and used, still hanging on the rack.

No, they don't. Walmart gift cards are plastic with a magnetic strip and bar code on them. There is no way to steal the code by "standing near them".

 

[Alaric]

Really?
https://www.click2houston.com/news/...y-electronic-pick-pocketing_20151123152713118

Then clone the cards.

 

[UltraTaco]

Very interesting, but you need a little bit more than just a credit card number to make a purchase.

Let's not give ElmoTickle a heart attack

 

[Alaric]

Yeah, they clone them and then use software to keep checking until one is activated, then they drain it. It's been a while, security may hay have made headway on the issue. One of the perks of being broke is not having money problems-because there is no money! LOL

 

[UltraTaco]

Very interesting
Why nt just go and earn money? I never understood the appeal from stealing

 

[Alaric]

People with no morals or conscience probably don't take much pride in the concept.

 

[petteyg359]

Yeah, they clone them and then use software to keep checking until one is activated, then they drain it. It's been a while, security may hay have made headway on the issue. One of the perks of being broke is not having money problems-because there is no money! LOL

To do that, you have to open the package, take out the card, have a magnetic scanner on you (or scratch off the sticker covering the online PIN, and then hope the person who buys the card is a fool and doesn't notice it's been scratched already), and then reseal the package and put it back on the shelf. That's not done by simply "standing nearby". Also, probably the vast majority of reports of such fraud are from less-adept fraudsters who spent the card value already themselves and want something for nothing.

 

[Alaric]

There are literally hundreds of them hanging on a rack, there is no packaging. The 3 digit code is covered by a sticker designed to be easy to pull back. And they use portable versions of the scanners that allow you to just wave your card past it. Our city bus system has them.