With The AM Radio On

The imperial raftload of opinions on who really is the victim of credit card fraud, stemming from the Boston Globe article on the legislative reactions to the Stop and Shop Skimming Shenanigans, is centered around this quote as much as any:

"If this legislation passes, all retailers, all companies, and all
banks will know they'll be responsible for absorbing every cost
associated with a data breach."

Of course that quote doesn't make a whole lot of sense once you parse it, it just seems to be pluralizing the victims in a bizarre twist on bystanderism, i.e., if were just going to sit around and watch the crime happen, let's all be victims!

Most puzzling to me are the voices of the outraged merchants on the Slashdot thread, sounding too much like a hoodlum's fence pleading ignorance to the cops on the legal state of goods in his possession. The merchants are no doubt getting the shaft in the current credit card fraud scheme. They may not have the financial resources and high powered lobby as the banks and credit card outfits, but the merchants do have the capacity to do more to validate a transaction that to make sure the magnetic strip is functional. Are credit card transactions getting to the point were they need to be validated as vigorously as a personal check. Remember those?

I see a business opportunity here. Heck, I'm in love with the modern world and I'll be out all night.