Home credit card reader takes byte out of fraud

PORTLAND, Ore. - Millions of people shop online, but for many cyber purchasers, there is still that moment of anxiety when you type in your credit card information and send it off into cyberspace.

Is that information safe from hackers? Did you type in all those credit card digits correctly?
    
Now, there is a new product that aims to give you a little reassurance. It’s called the SmartSwipe reader and it is a cool-looking device and even kind of fun to use.
    
But what it's supposed to do is protect you from hackers who are out to get your personal information. KATU News decided to see if it really works.

As anyone who has a debit or credit card knows, buying with a financial card is simple at the store. You just swipe and go.

But when it comes to shopping from your home computer, it’s a little more complicated. For many purchases, you type in all the numbers on your card and then hope you did it right.

Now, a Canadian company is introducing a little gadget that allows online shoppers to swipe instead of type, right from their home computer. It’s called the SmartSwipe card reader, and it works similarly to the credit card readers retailers use but with one important exception.

The device is designed to protect your credit card information from hackers and cyber-spies.

When you swipe your card through the SmartSwipe reader, it instantly scrambles your credit card information even before it hits your computer. Your actual card number is never transmitted.

Daniel McCann of Net Secure in Canada developed the device. The initial scramble of the card’s information means it never really exists inside your computer “so hackers and spyware and people like that who can get into your computer can never see it,” McCann says.

After a card is swiped, the information pops up with a bunch of letters (typically Xs). At checkout, the credit card box says "protected” and your actual credit card number is revealed only after it reaches the merchant.

It sounds like a good idea but is it necessary? C/Net technology expert Molly Wood likes the device but wonders if it isn’t overkill for most consumers.
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 "It's definitely the most secure thing to do,” Wood said,” but it's kind of the equivalent of installing the highest most top of the line security system in your house. Most people don't need it. "

Wood agreed that the device would protect users who have malicious software that is logging your keystrokes.

She advises keeping security software up to date to make sure your computer does not have spyware lurking inside.

In most cases of credit card theft, credit card numbers are stolen from huge databases controlled by banks and retailers where SmartSwipe can't help.

What most consumers should worry about is the security of the people storing your credit card information and not so much the process of users typing in the number.

The SmartSwipe card reader is not available at retail locations in the United States but can be ordered online. It costs about $90.