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I have a contractor that helps me out, I pay him by business checks. At a transit ticket vending machine, I had to use my business debit card one time and he was behind me. What does it mean if he saw the pin number I punched in?
I just realized that he gets the numbers on my business checks and also had a chance to see my pin number.
Honestly, there probably isn't a lot he can do with just your pin number. Unless the number printed on your checks is your credit/debit card number. If he had both your card number, and your pin, he might be able to do some damage, if he wanted to. But either way, change your pin, just to be sure.
I think he would need to have physical possession of your card, and know your Pin number. The Pin number is not usable in any other transactions except validating a withdrawal using a physical card.
I use the same Pin number for everything, and I haven't changed one in 20 years.
I have a contractor that helps me out, I pay him by business checks. At a transit ticket vending machine, I had to use my business debit card one time and he was behind me. What does it mean if he saw the pin number I punched in?
I just realized that he gets the numbers on my business checks and also had a chance to see my pin number.
Should I be concerned about this?
I wouldn't be too concerned about it. Unless your contractor is a criminal, has a photographic memory to remember it AND has access to your debit card... If you are really concerned just change your PIN.
As a cashier in a big box store I worry a whole lot more about credit/debit cards used there though. I could us anybody's debit card and not need a PIN because they can now change their option to 'credit'...usually to gain reward points...and not even NEED a PIN. And many credit cards don't require a signature unless the purchase is over $50 so I could use your credit card to my heart's content...as long as I kept a low amount. I often have to help older people with the card reader and see many PINs being put in but I couldn't tell you what one of them was. I'm not criminally minded and without the physical card I couldn't do anything with it anyway. However, THEY don't know this and get upset if they 'think' I've seen the number. Sigh.
I think he would need to have physical possession of your card, and know your Pin number. The Pin number is not usable in any other transactions except validating a withdrawal using a physical card.
I use the same Pin number for everything, and I haven't changed one in 20 years.
I would say if you are concerned that the contractor would try to use your pin number just because he was behind you and may have seen the pin number it is time to get a new contrator because you don't trust him. The number on your checks and the number on the debit card are completely different.
I've never changed mine either, and had the same one for 18 years. Oh, and my husband, mom and sister all know what my pin is set to. I'm still not worried.
I do understand the concern though on a subcontractor. As a builder, we use a lot of them. Some of them, I would give my garage door code to and let them into my house when I wasn't home, I trust them that much. I would be no problem to advance them money against the job they are about to start for us, if they ever asked for it. Others, I don't even trust to pay their bills each month, so we pay them only once we have proof their suppliers have been paid for, and the work is 100% complete. But they do a good job at what they are paid to do, so we still use them. But like I said before, if they don't have your card numbers, there isn't much they can do with just the pin.
Honestly, I would be more concerned about the person you hand your card to at the restaurant, since there is an entire industry built around cloning cards. I either pay cash, or pay at the register, and never let my card out of my sight.
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