Swiping your own card in Nashville

A Nashville, TN, restaurateur is offering his clients the opportunity to swipe their own credit cards when they dine in his establishment to guard against employees skimming credit cards when they take them back to the kiosk to charge the meal.  Matt Charette owns Beyond the Edge and two other East Nashville restaurants and says that he started doing this because he wanted his customers to trust him when they gave him their credit cards.

Though this is probably more of a marketing ploy than any real security concern, I still think it is a good idea to have this choice.  Some restaurants have gone so far as to put in systems where the swipe happens right at the table.  Of course, neither of these methods guarantees that there is not a skimmer on the machine itself where the swipe happens.  But all of these choices are about risk and business, and if the perception is that one's credit card is more secure at these establishments (and I think they probably are slightly more secure), then there is a very good chance that they will see more business.

One statement from Lt. Mickey Garner, Metro police fraud unit supervisor in Nashville, had me scratching my head and wondering if his unit is a little behind on the times: "Check your statements monthly."

Ummmm, Lt. Garner, with all due respect, if you are only checking your statements monthly now days, then you are seriously behind the curve.