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card skimmer not a thing in HK?

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  1. #1

    Join Date
    Sep 2020
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    card skimmer not a thing in HK?

    seems to me people here carelessly swipe their wallet everywhere. like the from door to buildings.

    in the usa, there are lots of skimming machine that can steal your card info. lots of fraud in general. i lost some money on my credit card when i was living in US.

    i take my Octopus out of my wallet each time before i use the Octopus , anywhere.

    it seems HKese dont worry.
    am i too paranoid?

    Last edited by euless; 14-05-2021 at 02:53 PM.

  2. #2

    Join Date
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    Chip and contactless credit cards are encrypted and pretty much impossible to skim.

    emx likes this.

  3. #3

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    Quote Originally Posted by euless:
    seems to me people here carelessly swipe their wallet everywhere. like the from door to buildings.

    in the usa, there are lots of skimming machine that can steal your card info. lots of fraud in general. i lost some money on my credit card when i was living in US.

    i take my Octopus out of my wallet each time before i use the Octopus , anywhere.

    it seems HKese dont worry.
    am i too paranoid?
    Have you been to HK?
    jimbo and shri like this.

  4. #4

    Join Date
    Feb 2009
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    Quote Originally Posted by mrgoodkat:
    Chip and contactless credit cards are encrypted and pretty much impossible to skim.
    Yeah but with the new RFID tap'n'go credit cards, I think you can tap your credit card on the payment terminal up to $500 or something like this without inputting a pin number. So it means someone can walk around with handheld payment terminal, wave it around your arse (man) or handbag (woman) and instantly rip $500 off you without you ever knowing. I imagine this could be quite lucrative on packed MTR trains.

    This is why plastic credit cards are easy targets for fraud, even the newest technology. But if you tear up your card and only use google pay and Apple pay functions on your phone, these are much better and safer, since they require your fingerprint or phone unlock pattern before they work.
    mysti likes this.

  5. #5

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    That’s what RFID blocking wallets etc are for, No chance of someone with a payment terminal getting up close and debiting $$$ from your cards


  6. #6

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    I remember when they used to put trap on ATMs. We were in Barcelona and a friend didnt get his card back. I drunkly decided to punch the ATM, the skim device fell out with the card.
    I would not worry in HK, it's as vanilla as it can get.

    Elefant&Castle likes this.

  7. #7

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    May 2012
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    Quote Originally Posted by euless:
    am i too paranoid?
    Yes

  8. #8

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    May 2012
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    Quote Originally Posted by bdw:
    Yeah but with the new RFID tap'n'go credit cards, I think you can tap your credit card on the payment terminal up to $500 or something like this without inputting a pin number. So it means someone can walk around with handheld payment terminal, wave it around your arse (man) or handbag (woman) and instantly rip $500 off you without you ever knowing. I imagine this could be quite lucrative on packed MTR trains.

    This is why plastic credit cards are easy targets for fraud, even the newest technology. But if you tear up your card and only use google pay and Apple pay functions on your phone, these are much better and safer, since they require your fingerprint or phone unlock pattern before they work.
    If it's a credit card, you just contest the tx it it's not yours. The liable party is the merchant anyway, which in this case is the scammer...

    If it's a debit, you're out of luck. I can't see much contactless debit usage in HK though.

    Also yea, no skimmers here afaik...it's too much bother. It's easier to do online love scams via WeChat I guess
    mrgoodkat and Fatpigkenny like this.

  9. #9

    Join Date
    Jan 2018
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    Why bother with petty tasks when organized crime targets tens of thousands of accounts details via exploiting company databases?


  10. #10

    There was a case of some eastern europeans installing skimmers at Aeon ATMs cause they dont have cams a while back.

    Think the cops sort this kind of fraud out asap

    Having said that wish we could pay with Apple Pay at restaurants, would save having to carry cards around.


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