[1096] in cryptography@c2.net mail archive
Re: Thoughts on ATM cards
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (stephen)
Thu Jun 26 22:57:27 1997
Date: Thu, 26 Jun 1997 11:25:15 -0400
To: "William Allen Simpson" <wsimpson@greendragon.com>
From: stephen <stephen@iu.net>
Cc: cryptography@c2.net
In-Reply-To: <6121.wsimpson@greendragon.com>
At 04:21 AM 6/26/97 GMT, you wrote:
>I'd like to support Colin's suggestion as to the next target: ATM card
>master PINs.
I have to say that cracking ATM cards, or anything else that illustrates
what a cavalier attitude many banks have towards their customers' money, is
appealling, but the legal issues are complex. For example, clearly stated
on the back of "my" First Union ATM card is the fact that I don't own it.
Frankly, you could have that card to play with, I have no positive feelings
for FU bank, but the fact that it is not my card to share with others
suggests it would be illegal for me to even give it to you.
Of course, there are other attacks on the ATM system in general that could
be legal, like a massive simultaneous and sustained rejection of ATM fees
(at the appointed hour someone at every ATM in the country initiates a
large cash withdrawal, then declines the ATM fee, then does it again,
and...) but this is more akin to civil disobedience or consumer protest
than cryptography.
Stephen
