Royal Bank of Wankers

[Capetonian]

I needed another card reader from NatWorst Jersey, as I'd left the other one in CPT, rang them and asked them to send me one. A huge argument ensued from their refusal to do so, they could only issue one per customer and it was tied to the account and you have to return the old one first (and if you've lost it?) and this woman was just arguing for the sake of being unpleasant and obstructive.

Next morning I walked into a branch in Brighton and asked at the enquiries counter if they could lend me one. the lady went out the back and handed me two, in boxes, so that I had a spare. I then rang back Jersey, spoke to a different person, asked if they could send me one, and she said yes but we can only send it to one of your registered addresses. I asked why the bitch from hell hadn't told me that and the response was along the lines of : "Oh, her!"

I have subsequently found out that not only are they not tied to an account, they are not even tied to a bank and apparently are completely interchangeable. I have not put that to test.

[Wodrick]

I have two, one Nationwide and one NatWest. They are completely and functionally interchangeable.Tested many times it doesn't matter which I use, usually the first to hand.

[Capetonian]

That's interesting, Wodrick, thanks, because I have about 4 from NatWest, 2 from AIB, 1 from Nationwide, and another from Banco de no me Acuerdo!

[ExSp33db1rd]

..........but I don't know if it will survive a battery change.

One of mine showed evidence of failing battery, tho' it still worked at the time. There was clearly no way to replace the battery, so I wrote to the bank - it needed a couple of reminders ! - and they eventually just sent me a new one, but didn't answer my questions about battery life. One will only find out when one fails, and then it will be impossible to go Online at a time when it might be essential to move funds THEN. Meanwhile the real money launderers just laugh at us and carry on regardless.

[barkingmad]

I’ve got three of these card reader widgets, 2 from the very helpful folks in Nationwide Building society and one from the Fred the Shred mob, soon to become Natworst.
Looking at the reverse side there appears to be a small slide-out tray at the lower part of the widget body which looks like it would take a standard button cell battery.
It’s possible it can be released by pushing a suitable small screwdriver or even a paper clip end into the rectangular hole adjacent to the “tray” but so far I have had no need to try this.
Both the N’wide and RBS widgets are virtually identical made by our friends in PRC so every time you use them you may be transmitting the info to the Huawei HQ?!

[Wodrick]

CR2032 is the one

[k3k3]

Button cell battery sizes are strangely logical, CR2032, C means Lithium (OK, less logical), R means Round, 20 is the diameter in mm, and 32 means it is 3.2mm thick.

[ian16th]

Button cell battery sizes are strangely logical, CR2032, C means Lithium (OK, less logical), R means Round, 20 is the diameter in mm, and 32 means it is 3.2mm thick.

Yes, and if you cannot get the correct size, you can usually get away with the next thinnest one.

The remote for my car takes CR1620's that for some reason are quite rare. I use CR1616's, they work fine.

[Wodrick]

Button cell battery sizes are strangely logical, CR2032, C means Lithium (OK, less logical), R means Round, 20 is the diameter in mm, and 32 means it is 3.2mm thick.

Didn't know that.

[ExSp33db1rd]

Tested many times it doesn't matter which I use, usually the first to hand.

So how do they work then ? I had assumed that the one issued by Bank X was loaded with some sort of algorithm peculiar only to me and Bank X, so why does Bank Y accept a one-time PiN produced by Bank X's widget ?

[Wodrick]

If you google "Pinsentry" there are broad explanations.


Other search engines are available

[ExSp33db1rd]

If you google "Pinsentry" there are broad explanations.

Thanks, Wilco.

[ExSp33db1rd]

But ... PinSentry gadgets appear to be ones that need some sort of bank "card" to be inserted, and I can see that in that case there can be some connection between the owner of the card and the number generated by the gadget.

I have a couple of gadgets that need no such connection, they are totally remote from any connection with anything except my name when I have correctly entered username and password or PiN number, and then being asked to create a one-time code to type into the computer. I can only assume that the bank have loaded my personal gadget with a bank of numbers peculiar to me, albeit unknown to me, and the gadget randomly selects one of them ? But is this feasible ?

[llondel]

It's a pseudo-random number generator. The sequence is predictable if you know how it's wired, and provided its frequency reference is good enough, the bank computer, knowing what it was at some time in the past, will be able to calculate what it is now. My assumption is that it probably has a bit of leeway built in, so you could enter the current number or the one either side, and the bank computer adjusts its settings if it's slightly out.

[Hydromet]

I wonder how secure credit/debit card PINs are. I had two cards, one a debit card from a credit union, and one a credit card through an unrelated bank and card company. Both had the same PIN, and I've heard reports of others having the same thing happen. Of course, with 16m credit cards on issue in Australia, and most people having at least one other card, these coincidences are bound to happen, but I can't help wondering if the financial institutions are all using a common hashing function, possibly of the user's name, dob and other fixed data, to generate the PIN. It seems that this wouldn't be too secure - secrets don't stay secret for long.

[Capetonian]

I too have had, out of several debt/credit cards, the same CCV number a few times. I'm not sure if I've ever had the same PIN.

I usually scratch the CCV off, as it's only needed for internet purchases, so if someone nicks or clones my card, it reduces its usefulness to them. That said, it didn't stop a Nigerian from buying air tickets in South Africa on my UK card, which had never left my possession, but I'd used it to make a booking on line GB-ZA on flysaa.com. Despite the fact that CC details are supposed to be concealed in the airline systems, it is not difficult to find them, particularly if, as SAA were doing, they stored them in a non-secured field.

And guess what ..... they had Niggerians working in their call centre, about as smart as putting an alcoholic in charge of a pub.

[AtomKraft]

Thanks to Radio Four for giving us a much needed laugh this morning.

The news reader was suggesting that having been bailed out a few years ago, now was the time for the banks to repay the publics' largesse by helping out during the Corona crisis.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha ha.

Banks currently gouging desperate businessmen by offering loans at 30% interest.

Bless them.

[barkingmad]

AK, even more amusing was the veiled suggestion that the guvvment, especially a Conservative one, might actually turn round and possibly FORCE the banks to open their tight-fisted grip on the dosh for the greater interest.

That same dosh which was gouged out from taxpayers over a decade ago to keep them afloat and which will be lost in the rush to sell them back to the fatcat shareholders at discount prices.

I’ve just noticed a contrail from at least one pig inbound on a southeasterly track on this sunny morning, oop north in Blighty.

[AtomKraft]

Barking.
I'm not really a fan of communism, but some of these 'bankers' really need shooting.
I don't thing Stalin or Mao would have hesitated for a second.

[barkingmad]

AK, shooting requires accuracy and involves chemical contamination of the immediate environment.
My proposed guillotine is eco-friendly and would provide a public spectacle to relieve the boredom of daytime mindless TV.
And I have no problem with the solution being perceived as communist as in recent times right-wing regimes have established a reputation for removing from the food chain people whom they regard as surplus or damaging to the greater cause.