A security “how” trap for credit cards, is kanban next?

Another case of simple is better.

Testing credit card security starts before you think. And it can be done manually, without even a phone.  And this has always been true because of the use of the Luhn Formula

If you are like me, you hadn’t ever heard of the Luhn Formula, named after Hans Peter Luhn, who according to this article played a tangential role in the creation of the world wide web.

It turns out that just looking at the number of the credit card alone you can tell if it’s an actual credit card number.  Back in the days where there were those sliding mechanisms that used carbon paper (some taxis still use them) there was no good way to test if a card was active, but they did have a way to check if it was a valid number, and that test is still in use today.

It turns out that by going through four simple steps that end with some simple addition, if the number you arrive at ends in anything other than zero, it’s not a real credit card.  Here’s the test.

What a clever and simple way to check if a number is valid that requires no technology whatsoever.  A great “how” to check a number for validity.

As for the reference in the title to kanban,  I can’t help but think that in this day and age it’s time to add another simple level of security that would eliminate credit card fraud.

Kanban is a term that’s used a lot in business, but it’s literal translation from Japanese is “show card” and how it’s used is that the card is a signal that means it’s OK to proceed with the next step, and the work can’t start until the signal is given.  I learned this recently when I read the book Kanban, by David J. Anderson and I really enjoyed it – and I recommend it.

My rethinking on the credit card is that most people carry cell phones around with them, it would be so easy for the credit card company to shoot out a text message at the point the credit card transaction is taking place to ask you if you are making a purchase at Blue C Sushi (or whatever the place is called where you are shopping), and if you say “Yes” the transaction proceeds, and if you say “No” it stops (so the “Yes” is the kanban signal).  You would probably want to set up some preferences and threshold amounts, but that would be easy.  Even better, if the credit card company sent a second message, asking what per cent gratuity to apply, you could send that number back and there would be no need to even sign anything since you have validated and authenticated everything right then and there.  Don’t you think it’s time for something like that?

-Ric