| From: | Da Twink Daddy datwinkdaddy@*********.com |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Cash, Credit, and Crime |
| Date: | Thu, 1 Jul 1999 23:58:06 -0500 |
think it is because of the way my credstick system works. I shall
expound:
All Credsticks: Have a small display along the side that allows
transactions to be entered in, etc. They are from 15-20 cm long and
about 2-3 cm in diameter at the wide end. They taper to a rounded
point. The point to semi-transparent plastic that diffuses any light
that hits it. This is because in the center of the plastic, there is
the end of a fiberoptic cable. A _very_ redundant system of flashes of
different wavelength etc. is sent 'out' this end during a transfer.
Weight is nominal. Transactions aren't finalized until the stick 'hits
the banking system.' This is done anytime it is hooked up to a
commercial-level credreader or used at a bank. Also, all credsticks a
serial numbered.
Registered Credsticks: As the cannon says, these hold your ID,
passport, permits, anything and everything you need. They can't be
used w/o your authorization, which can be anything from a 5-symbol
alphanumeric code, to a full cellular scan (they prick your finger and
analyze the blood. -- the needle is normally covered in an indention
on the wide end). They hold credit information but this is only
disclosed to those with commercial-level cred readers. Normal stck to
stick transactions con't tell the other person you've done 3 'bad'
transfers in the last 2 days. (Bad transfers = wrting a 'hot' or
'bouncy' check.) Normally these have no upper limit on the amount of
cred that can be contained on one.
Certified Credsticks: These have no ID or other personall information,
they are as close to a cash stick as you can get. There are NO
safe-guards as far as taking money off the stick you simply spcify the
amount. (Of course, it doesn't let you transfer more than you have...)
They are HARDWIRED with a maximum ammount of money that can be place
on one by the bank that produces them, and any service charge the bank
might charge is based on that maximum ammount despite how little
they may actually put on it. Also, may bank require you to have an
account to even get a certified stick, and have limits on how 'big' a
stick they will give you. Based on credit rating.
Commercial-level Cred Readers: These finalize all transactions through
them, even small businesses have them (though maybe only at rating 1
or 2). They are connected to the banking network and so you can't ever
'write a bad check' at a normal store. (They know exactly how much you
can afford.) Also, they have access to your credit record so, they can
decide if they actually wnat to finance at 0.9% for 6 months... They
can also get some ID from the stick, such as name, DOB, SIN, Eye/Hair
Color, Phenotype, _possibly_ even a picture. (It depends on the rating
of both the stick and the reader.)
Transferrs: You can transfer from any stick to a reader. Also, you can
trasfer from any stick to registered stick. You can transfer from a
registered stick to a certified stick, but you can't so certificed to
certified stick. Money never _comes_ from a reader, that money is
generally placed in the companies account and would appear on a
company stick, next time the stick was slotted. If there are multiple
stick atached to your account (Registered sticks), you might end up
seeming to gain money from a reader (as deposits into your account
just show up.) Many bank don't allow personal accounts to have
multiple sticks attached to them (unless the account is joint, then
only 2 sticks.) Commercial account may have quite a few sticks
attached to them.
Enter the transfer on the side of the from stick and then touching to
the end of the to stick and waiting for a while in enough to register
the transaction on both sticks The transaction usually takes 10-15
sec. Quite a few redundacys and checks have to go though to do stick
to stick transfers. When a transfer is done the stck notifies the
user, generally with a barely audible beep and 'DONE [click for
details]' on the display. Either can be turned off, but not both. of
course, first the stick go though a 'modem handshake' and get ready
for the transfer. Then, the from stick sends a highly encrypted
message to the other credstick. This information contains either the
bank the funds are attached to or the bank the stick was certified by
(One reason for the name certified credstick; that bank is responsible
for fraud by that credstick) and the serial number of the credstick.
It also sends some other information that the recieving credstick can
use to verify the money. (I don't
know exactly what, but for example the date -- something volatile but
predictable to verify but add complexity to spoofing attempts.) Higher
rating credsticks actually keep (and update each time they are connect
to the 'trix) a table connecting each bank to a special number (like a
bank's PIN) that is will use to make sure the bank is valid. These
credsticks can start to be troublesome sometimes. A cred reader then
does it's 'banking stuff' verifying with banks and double checking
etc. [Cred readers only do this step but they are much faster than
stick-stick transfers so both transfers complete in the same amount
of time. However, if there have been a lot of things that need to be
'downloaded' to the credstick... it might take awhile.] The receiving
stick then sends back (encrypted, again) the verification (amount,
some
other stuff.) Either stick can cancel the trasfer off at any time and
if they lose connection before completion the transfer is
automatically canceled.
Okay, I had this a little clear when I first thought about it but,
that was 2hrs. ago. The banks can keep track of all their money
because the money is always 'controlled' by a certain bank. Money
exchanges (even small ones) are easy to do, so there is no need for
cash. Things aren't finalized until both credsticks involved in the
transaction are used at the bank for in a commercial credstick reader.
When a transaction isn't finalized the money isn't considered to be
anywhere so neither party can use it. Thus, it is preferable to slot
even your certified cred every once in a while. Money is almost always
traceable... sort of.
If someone steal a 10$-bill from me and I KNOW the serial number, then
(theoretically) banks could put out a watch for that serial number and
immediately arrest them. [No, this won't be done for 10$ but, you get
the drift.] The same thing can be done for ANY credstick. However, the
people it went though (which may be quite a few) can't be caught, and
generally you won't know the serial number of your stolen credstick.
The display screen won't show it to you, though a credreader of any
rating can. (That's where the credsticks are caught... If used in any
credreader, the bank will be notified... and the credreader will
report to the user of the commercial credreader that the person with
it is a thief... <Enter LoneStar>) Also, this tends to be at least
slight resource intensive and so is only done for the SINed and only
for larger amounts of cred.
Now, this isn't exactly cannon, but is based at least in part on it. I
believe NAGRL (Sorry I don't have it.) mentioned that certified to
certified transfers are not allowed (see above), but I don't really
see a reason why. It is probably just another step to prevent fraud.
However, each transaction is only completed when both credsticks hit
the 'trix, and each transaction has both serial numbers attached to it
and both banks.
--Enough of my rambling, comments are appreciated.
Da Twink Daddy
bss03@*******.uark.edu
ICQ# 514984
