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Credit cards have a privacy problem

washingtonpost.com

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Re: Credit cards have a privacy problem

#121

Post by nullc »

mehrdadn wrote: post #11
mandelbrotwurst wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's closer to 3%, and I don't think there's a way to beat that on the cash back except on a per category basis. Also, a lot of folks end up carrying a balance in spite of their best intentions. I suspect this happens relatively often even for folks with a long history of not doing so - e.g. maybe you get fired for the first time and start running up a balance, not long before you've run up some significant interest…

It's around 2% https://www.valuepenguin.com/what-credit-card-processing-fee... And then there's huge credit card bonuses like $150 for Chase Freedom which is like $7.5k of spending's worth... But again, that doesn't really answer my question. I very much realize lots of people do pay interest. But there are also people who don't, and possibly never have, for many years. I'm asking why do they keep those people around…

Even a lot of the unlimited 2%-3% cards rate limit you by delaying how often you can pay the bill, so essentially your credit limit limits the amount of reward you can get.

Fun fact: you can pay your US tax return with a credit card for a ~1.5% fee.

Re: Credit cards have a privacy problem

#122

Post by johnisgood »

FabHK wrote: post #107

I know, I know, the editorial staff is separate from the advertising/sales staff etc, but still find it funny that when I try to access the article in incognito mode, as I habitually do (for privacy), I get > We noticed you’re browsing in private mode. Private browsing is permitted exclusively for our subscribers. Turn off private browsing to keep reading this story, or subscribe to use this feature, plus get unlimit…

Disgusting. I avoid those kind of places like plague.

Re: Credit cards have a privacy problem

#123

Post by t0astbread »

I'm sure this is a great article that highlights an real issue but without executing JS the page doesn't show anything besides the logo and upon inspection of the HTML delivered by the server you can see that it's almost exclusively tracking scripts (at least in the EU).

Re: Credit cards have a privacy problem

#124

Post by sokoloff »

mehrdadn wrote: post #33
dkersten wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you saying that every single SaaS startup is selling anything because they don’t lose ownership when they provide a service in return for money? I think typically the exchange of money for a good or service is what we refer to as “selling” even if the seller doesn’t lose said service after selling it.

No, I was merely referring to "selling" as it pertains to products, not services. Your data would be a product, not a service. They may build services around your data that use it in some way, but it'd be the service they'd be selling, not your data. Just like how Uber would be selling a ridesharing service, not your car.

If I sell to you the knowledge that the derivative of ln(x) is 1/x, I still have that knowledge.

No different than if I sell to you knowledge of the fact that cardholder XYZ lives at 123 Main St, has phone number 555-867-5309, and shopped at Giant Dildos, LLC 3 times in the summer of 2019.

Re: Credit cards have a privacy problem

#125

Post by Ensorceled »

avocado4 wrote: post #86
dehrmann wrote: post #82

Yup, do-no-evil Google buys your credit card data for advertising purposes: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-30/google-an... Companies need to start thinking of this less in the lens of "evil" and more principle of least astonishment. Would users be surprised and angry to learn you do this? Then don't.

> Google buys your credit card data for advertising purposes How do they connect my credit card data to my Google activity? My Google account isn't connected to my personally identifiable information in any way. I.e. they don't have my phone number, nor do I use Google Pay.

Have you used Google from home wifi? Use google maps to get travel directions from home to other locations consistently on the same device? Used that same device/home wifi to access your credit card's website?

Re: Credit cards have a privacy problem

#126

Post by Multicomp »

I wish Mondex would try again. Mondex was a MasterCard idea tried in the UK that was basically 'digitized cash in a wallet which has the form of a smart card'.

Approach ATM, insert Mondex card. Feed ATM bills and coins, Mondex card gets loaded. Spend card, swipe as normal. Works offline, no connection to a bank account necessary, the money is deducted from your local card's 'account' to the 'account' on the POS/business. Your card records a transaction date/time/merchant for debits, theirs records the same for a credits.

You can transfer funds from one card to another, cash out the card offline at supporting ATMs, be used for building access/RFID cards, hold up to 5 digital wallets on one card, and more.

It was tried in the UK back in the 90s and NYC right in 2000 and worked about as well as you'd imagine in that world. But today, it would probably work much better. HK has the Octopus card which is conceptually similar and works well.

I'd certainly give either a shot so I don't have to carry physical cash but also aren't worried about having my money in someone else's hands who can lose it all due to bank fraud or have IT issues preventing payment processing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondex

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octopus_card

Re: Credit cards have a privacy problem

#128

Post by JoshuaRedmond »

Multicomp wrote: post #126

I wish Mondex would try again. Mondex was a MasterCard idea tried in the UK that was basically 'digitized cash in a wallet which has the form of a smart card'. Approach ATM, insert Mondex card. Feed ATM bills and coins, Mondex card gets loaded. Spend card, swipe as normal. Works offline, no connection to a bank account necessary, the money is deducted from your local card's 'account' to the 'account' on the POS/busin…

I would guess that the money laundering potential is why it isn't around now - most stores don't let you buy a gift card with another gift card for the same reason (I've implemented this restriction in an e-comm site before). I might be wrong, but that's a potentially big legal hurdle.

Re: Credit cards have a privacy problem

#129

Post by dillonmckay »

avocado4 wrote: post #92
dehrmann wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't forget location data.

Even if they do (for Android users only), how would they connect location data to my credit card history? Are you claiming that Google reverse engineers PII by correlating Android location data with credit card purchase location history?

They know your approximate location when you conduct an offline credit card transaction, and the approximate time and location of the store where the transaction occurred.

Re: Credit cards have a privacy problem

#130

Post by dillonmckay »

tracker1 wrote: post #116
avocado4 wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even if they do (for Android users only), how would they connect location data to my credit card history? Are you claiming that Google reverse engineers PII by correlating Android location data with credit card purchase location history?

Does the credit card company or store have your email or phone number in addition to your CC being used?

If you use a loyalty card, then definitely.
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