One of my hometown television stations, ABC’s WJLA, reports on the old bugaboo of being able to see credit card information on photographs taken with camera phones. But for this story the reporter at least tried to see if it would work.
WJLA reporter Chris Van Cleave snapped photos of a credit card on a table using two camera phones (see below): The two megapixel Apple iPhone and a 1.3 megapixel handset that wasn’t identified but looks like a Motorola RAZR.
Van Cleave says the 1.3 megapixel photo doesn’t produce an image good enough to show the credit card’s numbers. (What a surprise! I’m not a fan of many RAZR’s — style without capabilities — including crummy cameras. Yes, the newer models have more advanced features.)
However, when Van Cleave uses the optical zoom capability on the iPhone, “you can start making out numbers on the credit card,” he says (see left). Van Cleave interviews an officer with the Alexandria, Va. Police Department, who says, “As technology gets better it’s something you have to worry about.”
It’s certainly not an hysterical news report about the dangers of photographing credit card numbers. However, it would have been much better if Van Cleave had taken photos that were closer to real life situations, such as while standing behind a shopper using a credit card at a grocery store checkout line.
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