“In the unlikely event…”

You have heard, “In the unlikely event… but not the rest of the important words to follow, because you’ve simply tuned out after the first part during a pre-take-off safety demonstration on an airplane, or during a pre-departure life boat drill on a cruise ship.  After all, it’s an unlikely event, so do you really need that life jacket? You were probably also thinking, “Never mind, I’ll sort it out later, (while I’m lining up with the rest of the panic-stricken passengers).”

“I don’t need an alarm system…”

You have probably heard a friend say, “I don’t need an alarm system for my house, because I always keep my doors locked. Besides, there’s nothing worth stealing.”

It’s sad how quickly that rationalization turns to self-pity after the house has been emptied by burglars, who also managed to take the most valuable possession that can’t be measured by money…“that feeling of security”.

“Don’t worry, you’re not liable…”

Credit card issuers keep telling their clients, “Don’t worry, you’re not liable for any illegal transactions as a result of your card’s data being stolen.” The fact is, we are all paying for illegal transactions, because the loss is simply covered by the fees and interest rates charged to the card holders. In addition, merchants are charged fees for each sales transaction… and they must pay for the card readers. So, let’s correct that misconception: The credit card issuer is the only party not liable for illegal transactions.

“You don’t need an RFID Shield…”

Credit and debit card issuers state, “You don’t need an RFID Shield for their chip cards because they are secure, especially the “contactless” chip cards.”  (A “contactless” chip card has a built-in antenna allowing the card be flashed at a terminal to complete the sales transaction without using a PIN).  The fact is, a “contactless” chip card can be read by a fraudster while the card is still in your wallet. So, why not use an RFID Shield?

“We’re not allowed to purchase RFID Shields…”

It appears that credit and debit card issuers have been putting pressure on the banks not to provide RFID Shields with their “contactless “chip cards and not to make them available to their clients who already have the cards.  We asked a key employee at one of the banks why this was happening and the answer was, “We are not allowed to purchase RFID Shields because our card issuer believes it sets a tone that their cards are not secure.” Another bank ordered 250,000 shields, but for the same reason, were not permitted to put any text on them regarding their intended RFID-blocking ability.

Back to the Titanic!

Design changes were made during the building of the Titanic to eliminate weight.  It was also felt that the original 48 lifeboats, enough for everyone onboard, would make the passengers feel a bit uneasy regarding the safety of the ship. So, the lifeboats were cut back to 20, only enough for 38% of the passengers when the ship was at full capacity.  This was deemed to be more than adequate since only 16 lifeboats were required based on the regulations in place at the time.  The Titanic was being built to be unsinkable anyway.

We all realize that a debit or credit card is not a ship… and certainly not the Titanic. However, security is the common issue here and it should be above the provider’s perception of what is adequate when more can be done.  I think we can all agree that extra lifeboats would have been appreciated!