Topaz Credit Card Readers???

keithfarrell87

Hey folks, I was in 3 different Topaz garages over the last week buying the essentials before work and noticed what looked like a barcode scanner facing towards me right beside the chip and pin credit card machine. It had the Motorola logo on top of it and as i moved my hand across the front of it a light on top of it flashed red & green. Anybody know what it is? The only reason im so suspect is because my credit card was recently scammed and i lost €3000 :eek: and i can't for the life of me figure out how that happened because im always careful about online shopping and what ATM's i use so i just thought it was a bit coincidental that these machines appeared when it happened. Asked the manager in my local Topaz and he said someone just installed them but he didn't know anything about it or what it was for....very suspect!! Just want to make sure im not setting myself up for another nasty shock in a few weeks when the account gets cleared out again and plunges me further into debt!

Big Nasty

Firstly, you should be getting that €3k back!

I don't know what the units you have described are but I have heard of a new scheme with (I think) BOI where you can swipe your card for sales up to €15 without the use of a pin.

I don't think a company with hundreds? of outlets are going scamming their customers.

Bandara

It sucks out a year of your life each time you cross it.

(may as well go with the paranoid vibe!)

Jimbob 83

Phil "The Hammer" Hogan installed them and has yet to reveal their use.

Big Nasty

Hammertime wrote: »

It sucks out a year of your life each time you cross it.

(may as well go with the paranoid vibe!)

Serious (but friendly) question here - do you do a site search for fuel / fuel station related stories every time you log on? You know just like Sesshoramu (or whatever his name is) does for electric vehicle threads.

Well, do ya punk?

MugMugs

Better suited to retail?

Bandara

MCMLXXV wrote: »

Serious (but friendly) question here - do you do a site search for fuel / fuel station related stories every time you log on? You know just like Sesshoramu (or whatever his name is) does for electric vehicle threads.

Well, do ya punk?

Nah I just read the front page




* dons cape and mask

keithfarrell87

MCMLXXV wrote: »

Firstly, you should be getting that €3k back!

I don't know what the units you have described are but I have heard of a new scheme with (I think) BOI where you can swipe your card for sales up to €15 without the use of a pin.

I don't think a company with hundreds? of outlets are going scamming their customers.

Yeah the €3k is in the process of being refunded at the moment and i know it's highly unlikely that they're messing their customers about but i do remember my local SuperValu allowed a technician in to "update" their chip and pin machines and it turned out he was a conman and he re-routed the transactions to private accounts around the world so been sceptical ever since! How do i know this i hear you ask....my ex worked there at the time.

Hammertime wrote: »

It sucks out a year of your life each time you cross it.

(may as well go with the paranoid vibe!)

Well in fairness losing €3k tends to bring the paranoia out :rolleyes:

delly

One of two things I would imagine:

The first is a QR barcode scanner for a new loyalty scheme maybe. The regular old school scanners can't read QR codes, so they could upgrade the exisitng scanner or install another one just for QR codes.

The other option is a NFC (Near field communication) reader which is what MCMLXXV is referring to, although this unit has no laser. Trust me when I say that NFC will be as common as chip and pin in a few years, and a lot of phones are coming with it as standard. The below vid gives a good intro to it. Most credit cards will be equipped with the same type of NFC chip as the phone in the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsaJMhcLm_A

Bandara

in all seriousness I reckon its a rewards scanner for frequent customers, they are getting rolled out in lots of places

keithfarrell87

Thanks guys....puts my mind at ease!!:D