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Comment by dualogy | Hacker News Reader

> The way to authorise online transactions is with a piece of paper with 100 codes printed on it (TAN list). This was a shock, but it's apparently common here.

Well whoever can hack your password, mobile TAN or TAN reader device will likely still not hack into your paper TAN list. There's something to be said for a "physical layer".

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> Well whoever can hack your password, mobile TAN or TAN reader device will likely still not hack into your paper TAN list.

They are frequently hacked by phishing (intercepting the bank site, changing out the reciever and asking for the TAN code nevertheless). chipTAN for example works by optically transmitting the transaction details to a small handheld device with your banking card inserted, and the handheld device shows you the IBAN and amount... foolproof.

http://business.chip.de/bii/1/6/5/0/1/8/6/0/chipTAN_sparkass... for an example pic of such a handheld device.

VISA debit isn't available in NL either. I get the impressions very few countries actually give out these cards.

In Australia, pretty much every bank account will include a free Visa / Mastercard debit card, built-in to your ATM card. You can also buy them in supermarkets as reloadable gift cards, or post offices as international travel cards. Though they typically won't work in Germany, since most German stores only accept EC Cards and not Visa / Mastercard.

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