I AGREE with Ng Shu Tsung of Kuala Lumpur regarding “Be alert when keying in PIN” (NST, Nov 6).
I have been using credit cards since the 1990s and I did not agree to signing on the back of the card because anyone who found could forge the signature when buying things.
But I had no choice. I followed the regulations because some retailers insisted on the signature being on the card.
One day in 2013, I received a call from a bank asking if I had made a purchase of RM3,500 at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
I said I was at my workplace in Sitiawan, so he said he would cancel that transaction and I agreed.
He called me again and told me that I had to pay RM6,500 for an earlier transaction. I refused, thinking it was a scam.
He gave me a Bank Negara official’s number to call.
After speaking to the officer, I settled the issue without paying anything. I found out that someone had cloned a card using my details, which I had given to a car dealer to buy a car. You can see from this how easy it is to forge credit cards.
But Bank Negara’s decision to insist on keying in your six-digit personal identification number (PIN) is not foolproof, despite what the writer suggests.
I agree that we need more privacy when keying in PIN.
Some shops have closed-circuit television cameras right above or beside counters, which don’t exactly offer privacy.
Why doesn’t Bank Negara insist on putting photos on cards so retailers accept cards that only have photos on them? We can make it harder for thieves to forge cards.
I know this might incur additional costs, but I don’t think card members will mind paying a bit extra for this extra layer of security.
SIVANESAN CHELLIAH
Masai, Johor