Online Shopping And Being Asked To Provide Your Pin

Online Shopping And Being Asked To Provide Your Pin.

If you have ever been online shopping and you have been asked to provide your pin this may send shivers up your spine as we have always been taught never give your pin number or password to anyone.

THE world of online shopping is changing though and online shopping protocols have been updated in a bid to make them more secure. This could even include being asked for digits of your PIN number.

In recent years the use of cash has diminished especially during the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic as many shops have pushed consumers to use their card rather than hand over cash in a bid to lower infection rates. According to the ‘Report on trends and innovation in means of payment’ which has been put together by the Payment Innovation Hub, the use of debit and credit cards now totals 47 per cent of transactions made.

In Spain alone in 2019 there were over 85 million cards in use and this number will undoubtedly grow. Increased security measures often termed “enhanced customer authorisation” can slow down the shopping process online but are there to make things more secure for you and protect your money. When making a purchase online you could now be asked to provide two different pieces of information at a minimum.

Previously as long as you had a card in your hand you would be able to make an online purchase even if the card did not belong to you. Online merchants are now using a variety of authentication factors, the three main groups being knowledge, possession and inheritance as reported La Sexta.

Knowledge implies something that you know which could be a pin number or a password. A possession authentication factor would be something that you actually have and could include a mobile phone or your actual card. Authentication factors classed as inheritance mean something that is unique to you for example your fingerprint, your face or your iris.

It is always worth remembering though that you should never be asked for your full pin number, only for a couple of the digits. If you are asked for your full pin number, ensure that you never provide it.

The Euro Weekly News is running a campaign to help reunite Brits in Spain with their family and friends by capping the costs of PCR tests for travel. Please help us urge the government to cap costs at https://euroweeklynews.com/2021/04/16/ewn-champions-the-rights-of-brits-in-spain-to-see-loved-ones-again/