We have an old chequing account at CIBC which is useful for shifting money into and out of our CIBC Investor’s Edge brokerage accounts. For years, I had a simple “Convenience Card” which I could use at the CIBC bank machines to make deposits and withdrawals. A year or so ago, though, a replacement bank card came in the mail. It’s called an Advantage Debit Card and is branded with both the VISA and the Interac logos.
Why I Disabled the Interac Flash Payment Option on This CIBC Advantage Debit Card
When I first received the card, I saw it had the Interac Flash logo. That bothered me because I never make debit purchases from this bank account. I’m not quite sure whether the Flash and Tap cards are easier for fraudsters to get data from although I’ve read stray comments that suggest they may be somewhat vulnerable.
Given that I never intend to use this option, I asked the service representative at my CIBC branch to “turn off” the Tap option used for Interac Flash. According to the flyer that came with the card, you can also phone the main CIBC number and ask to have the Flash or Tap feature disabled.
So that seemed good and I tucked the card away to use at the bank machine.
Why You Should Read Those Letters That They Mail With Your Bank Card
Imagine my surprise when almost a year later, desperate for something to read within reach of the telephone while waiting on hold because my call “is important” I browsed through the cover letter that I got with my CIBC Advantage Debit Card.
The letter states
“Your CIBC Advantage Debit Card details (for example, card number and expiry date” may be used to make debit purchases online, by phone or by mail order without a PIN or the card being present.” “….you could be liable for losses.”
Say what?!
Don’t they need a PIN or at least the security number off of the back of the card to use it to make a debit purchase?
Nope.
What I Did to Protect Myself from Fraudulent Theft Using My CIBC Debit Card
I phoned in to CIBC to ask them how I could prevent purchases made
“online, by phone or by mail order” without a PIN or the card being present.
Unfortunately, they couldn’t simply turn off those three types of sales.
What they could do was block the use of the card for any and all purchases. In other words, remove the ability to use the card for debit of any kind other than a bank withdrawal from the bank machine or from the teller.
They did this by setting the limit for purchases to $0.00.
Because I will not be using this card as a debit card, I was happy to accept this solution.
What I’d Like CIBC and the Other Banks to Consider
That said, I’d like CIBC and all banks to consider just how weak the security is around this type of card. Given how they have invested heavily in a Chip and PIN technology, it seems bizarre to go back to having anyone who physically steals the card being able to make purchases using it. In fact, anyone who can “borrow” a card long enough to scribble down a few numbers could use it illegally. I know we are supposed to guard our cards endlessly, but I suspect many wallets get left unattended for a few minutes at a time, particularly in large secured offices.
In the meantime, if you have one of these cards and you don’t intend to use it for any debit purchases, consider turning it off. It’s one less thing to have to be paranoid about.
Related Reading
- How Our Credit Card was Compromised and Used to Make Lots of Illegal Fraudulent Purchases
- What Should You Do If You Get a Phone Call Saying Your Credit Card Has Been Hacked?
Join In
Do you have more than one debit card? Have you got Tap, Flash and online debit enabled on all of them? What steps do you take to keep your money safe? Please share your experiences with a comment.