When we went to Europe ages ago, all their credit cards had chip and pin. This wasn’t last year, this was like ten years ago.
The reason it’s so common there is because it prevents a lot of fraud.
We don’t have it as much here … and that’s why fraud is still so prevalent:
Here’s Why Credit Card Fraud is Still a Thing [Krebs on Security] – “Most of the civilized world years ago shifted to requiring computer chips in payment cards that make it far more expensive and difficult for thieves to clone and use them for fraud. One notable exception is the United States, which is still lurching toward this goal. Here’s a look at the havoc that lag has wrought, as seen through the purchasing patterns at one of the underground’s biggest stolen card shops that was hacked last year.”
Derek Sivers & The Art of Enough [Brendan Cahill] – “Derek Sivers is an American entrepreneur and musician (now living in New Zealand) who was the CEO of one of the first digital music stores “CDBaby” in the early 2000s. Derek Sivers might be one of my favorite writers and entrepreneurs. I came across Derek’s book Anything You Want a few years ago when I was reaching burn out amounts of stress from juggling being a full time teacher in a tough school district, running a coaching business and also trying to be a good husband in a new marriage. My goal is to pack as much Sivers wisdom into one spot so you won’t have to go crawling through the internet for it. Enjoy!”
Justice Department Is Scrutinizing Takeover of Credit Karma by Intuit, Maker of TurboTax [ProPublica] – “The Department of Justice is scrutinizing Silicon Valley giant Intuit’s $7 billion takeover attempt of Credit Karma, an upstart personal finance firm that became a competitor when it launched a free tax prep offering that challenges Intuit’s TurboTax product.”
Finally, enjoy this gem:
The World’s Happiest Man Wishes You Wouldn’t Call Him That [GQ] – “What if we told you there was a man who had unlocked the secret to human joy? That despite all the pain and suffering and bad news out there, a monk on a mountaintop in Nepal has discovered a kind of template for How to Be Happy. In fact, so wise and ebullient is Matthieu Ricard that he’s been celebrated as “The Happiest Man in the World.” (Please don’t call him that.) We needed to meet this guy! So we sent Michael Paterniti to the hinterlands to learn how we all might make our lives a bit happier”
See you tomorrow!