Another important distinction, Shiv: I choose to associate with any credit card company I deal with, and any risk I take is of my own volition. It is not so with the government.
On 9/10/07, Amit Varma <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Udhay can you educate me on how voting with your feet or taking them to a > > court in India can help if a Credit Card company employee spends Rs > > 100,000 > > on your credit card account and you get a bill 3 weeks later? > > > > Shiv, since I wrote that piece, permit me to do to answer this question. > The answer lies in incentives: all the incentives for a credit card company > are aligned towards putting in place safeguards that do not allow its > employees access to sensitive data, and to make it too risky for those with > access to trade it. It is a different matter in government, where employees > effectively have tenure. > > Trusting a bank and a credit card company means that you automatically > trust a > back-up system of law enforcement and justice that the bank promises you. > Why > then turn around and say that you do not trust that system of law > enforcement > and justice? > > Actually, I don't have much faith in the rule of law in India, though it > is more likely to act against a private party than itself. But do you know > what I believe in? Competition. Every credit card company knows that an > incident where it is found to have compromised sensitive data will lead to > terrible publicity, and will affect it in the marketplace. That is far more > likely to keep than honest than fear of the cops. > > But the irony that causes me the greatest degree of amusement is that the > > writer of the blog would probably never use a cybercafe to reveal his > > bank > > and credit card details. He lives in a real world in which he realises > > that > > this would be stupid. > > > > Well, I have done this when I have travelled outside Mumbai and needed to > book an airline ticket urgently and take a printout from a cyber cafe. I > claim guilty to 'stupid'. Are you saying that the law should not protect > stupid people? > > I would elaborate more, but have a flight to catch in an hour, and will > spend the next two weeks in a city where I will be forced to use a cyber > cafe. Ah well! :) > > On 9/10/07, shiv sastry <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > -- Amit Varma http://www.indiauncut.com
