Store and send data through strips

Although you only see one stripe on the credit card, there are three separate tracks in that stripe. Prasad said that tracks 1 and 2 are the most critical. He told me: "The core details are stored on these two paths." "They carry the cardholder's name, card number, expiration date and CVV value."

He said that the third track is not always used. If it is, it may carry more advanced details, such as which currency can be used on the card to be valid, but for the purpose of processing payments, your information usually follows the first two trajectories.

There are several aspects involved in transferring data, and you can delve into more details in "How Credit Cards Work". Prasad said: "When a consumer swipes a card in a store, the reader picks up the data in the track and transmits the data to the acquirer." "The acquirer routes it to the issuer and obtains authorization. Then, the customer Approval.

Prasad added: "The method of data transmission is very important." Through the magnetic strip, it is static data. If the thief has a card reader, he can swipe the card, copy all the data and create another card. Since these values are static, the fake copy will have all your credentials. "

The ease of credit card fraud is the driving force behind the shift to chip cards that use dynamic data. Every time a customer inserts a chip card, a new value is generated. Prasad said: "It is very difficult to clone a chip card."