I have been robbed in the past by thieves using my HSBC Debit Card (issued by UA

Question

I have been robbed in the past by thieves using my HSBC Debit Card (issued by UAE branch) to purchase mobile phones and accessories by signing for the purchases. While the card has chip & PIN protection, HSBC mention (in the fine print) that, because not all merchants have chip & PIN, they also allow the PIN to be bypassed and sign for the purchase.

My question is...if they were able to sign for the purchase, was that using the magnetic strip? And if so, can I scratch the magnetic strip, so it can't be read and essentially have a chip & PIN-ONLY debit card?

I was told that HSBC will not refund the money as I did not protect my card (even though I always protected my PIN) and will not issue a chip & PIN-ONLY Debit Card. All UAE banks provide only a chip & PIN card with a signature option. Same goes for the "new and improved" chip and PIN credit cards.

Can I scratch off the magnetic strip to protect my money?

Explanation / Answer

Embossed letters are still present on CC to allow to quickly carbon-copy (literally) the card on paper. That's in the (very) old days, but still allowed today, and it will count as PRESENTIAL.

Magnetic strip is still there because half of the CC readers still work that way. ATM and TPV outside USA and UE are still missing the chip reader, and even inside those countries most ATM are old and would still read only magnetic strips.

Contactless cards are the new fashion and they are even more horrible than the previous two methods, since they will allow purchases with your CC still inside your wallet (and without you noticing)

Ways to be more secure with all that methods? Mess with the magnetic strip if you buy from merchants with chip-aware TPVs (magnets would do the trick); erase the CVC from behind your card (write it somewhere else, but not on the card it "protects"); break the antenna on your contactless card or store it inside some aluminium foil; and don't ever loose sight of your CC. If you do not purchase on-line, ask your bank to de-active your card for such transactions; if you do, ask your issuer bank to enroll your card in 3DSecure (Visa) or SecureCode (MasterCard) (or equivalent) for reducing risks of on-line fraud, and remember to check your bank statements regularly, establish a low limit on the CC and ask your bank for details on everything suspicious.

NOTE on your bank refusing responsibilities for "not protecting" your card (as if they explained what methods count as "protecting a card" for them): a manual signed transaction must match your allowed sign (on the back of your card and the one the bank has), so if the merchant accepted it, it should be the merchants problem, not yours.

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