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Comment by jmuguy | Hacker News Reader

I think part of this is just shoddy reporting from a local news source, I believe this is tech they're talking about.

While the implications here are certainly pretty creepy, this seems more like something to use in investigations of money laundering, etc.

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Gosh this copy from the linked web site seems like everything that's wrong with products in this space, "Criminals today use an array of payment cards to purchase, transfer or conceal billions of dollars of illicit funds from Law Enforcement"

Which criminals? The ones a local policeman happens to stop in a routine checkpoint?

I'd like to see actual stats on what percentage of everyday criminals who are met by local law enforcement "conceal billions of dollars".

I'd bet this percentage is so small the tool does more harm to the general populace than good on the off chance such a criminal is caught.

Which criminals? The ones a local policeman happens to stop in a routine checkpoint?

Yes, US citizens are criminals by definition of law, apparently.

I think you're correct. The quotes in the article make more sense in the light of stolen cards being "concealed" in other magnetic strips which aren't credit cards.

  Many times, criminals illegally clone valid payment cards
  on to non-descript pieces of plastic like hotel room keys 
  and subway cards, making detection and interrogation 
  nearly impossible. Since virtually any plastic card with 
  a magnetic stripe can re-purposed as a credit, debit or 
  prepaid payment card, being able to determine the 
  identity of the card is critical to your investigation.

The whole thing is moot once chips are (finally) in major use.

From your link:

"The ERAD platform will help you document every confiscated credit, debit and prepaid card, and instantaneously provide key card issuer information that’s critical to your investigation. And if some of those cards are prepaid cards, ERAD™ gives you the ability, right at the point of arrest, to determine the value and immediately secure or freeze those funds."

So these devices do let LEOs seize funds but only from prepaid cards, apparently, for now.

I wonder if it would help to only have cards with pin and chip, and wipe your magnetic stripe.

Hello sir, we're performing an investigation. We accept cash, check, and credit card. Just hand us your wallet, sign here, and then realize you can't afford to hire a lawyer because we took all your money.

This happens, or something very similar. There have been multiple cases where someone faces charges and the government freezes all their bank accounts, preventing them from being able to hire a good attorney to defend themselves.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/17/us/justices-weigh-freezing...

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