Working in retail, I have become all too familiar with the EMV chip that is a new, necessary accessory on most all debit and credit cards. The banks tell us that it is a new safety precaution and that it will better protect us from breaches of our cards, stolen identities, and system hacks. But in 2016, over 1,000 Wendy's were hacked and millions of customers' credit card details were stolen. Another case in 2016 was a claim that malware hacked into tens of thousands of credit card information stolen from Marriott, Hyatt, Starwood, and Intercontinental hotels. Credit card information was also stolen from Arby's. We mindlessly use our cards at all of these places, it doesn't matter if we swipe or insert, we're never going to be safe.

Last year I got a call from the fraud prevention center that over $100 was spent in New Jersey. I live in Indiana, hadn't been anywhere, and when I do visit the East Coast it is to visit with my step dad's family in Maryland and Pennsylvania. So I went to the bank, they issued me a new card, and all was well. I haven't had any fraudulent incidents since, but I moved to Columbia City from Fort Wayne in November and I hadn't changed my address on my bank account yet. When I tried to order lunch online at work and it asked for the zip code attached to my card, I put my Fort Wayne zip code on there because to my knowledge that was still the zip code attached. It then told me that the zip code was wrong. So, I typed in my Columbia City zip code and it went through. I was very confused since that incident paired with a piece of mail that I got from my bank with the new address printed on it. I had no idea how they got it because my license is also wrong, so it couldn't have been from when I showed them my ID for them to look at my account or when I've gone in to take money out. Nevertheless, I didn't think anything of it. Then, a last week I went to Aldi's to pick some things up, the cashier asked for my zip code (this was after my address mysteriously changed to my new address) not knowing my address was changed at the time I gave her my old Fort Wayne one and she took it without a problem. They have began asking for your zip code for security purposes, I gave the wrong one accidentally and there were no issues, no errors, no setbacks, nothing. That raised a red flag for me. The last instance I have had was a few days ago when I went to the gas station, they do not have the chip at this station, I went to swipe and the reader kept saying card read error. The cashier then tried to swipe it and it didn't work. She eventually just manually typed my card number, reading the number and expiration date aloud, without checking my ID or anything. She just typed the card number in, no problem. Someone could have stolen my card and tried to buy something with it and gotten away with it.

The point that drives the question is, are the chips protecting us? Will we ever be fully protected?