Try this additional safety feature
A relative of mine was the victim of a car theft in Gasing Heights, Petaling Jaya, recently.
Among the valuables which she lost was her handbag containing money, MyKad, driving licence and a credit card.
Within an hour of her reporting the loss to the police and bank, the bank informed her that the thief had already used her credit card to buy petrol from a station in Bangsar.
When I mentioned this incident to a friend of mine, he told me that he has a credit card issued by a bank in Britain which has a safety feature, unlike our local credit cards.
Each time my friend presents his credit card for any transaction, at any place, a message appears on the machine requiring him to enter his personal identification number ( PIN).
My friend can even block people from viewing his PIN, including the personel at the establishment concerned.
I think our local banks should emulate this procedure for the protection of their card holdes.
After all, when such incidents happen, and even after reporting the matter to the bank, the liability of the customer is limited. So. our banks will also stand to gain if they choose to adopt this safety mode for their credit-card holders.
James Gonzales
New Strait Time KL