I do agree that it's one deficiency, but it doesn't matter much. The vast majority of fraud isn't from people finding credit cards off the ground and going into stores with it. There aren't organized criminal rings for it because it simply doesn't scale. Not to mention that you have a very limited window to spend it compared to a skimmed card. The banks probably figured that adding pin adds marginal security for significantly more hassle.
> The vast majority of fraud isn't from people finding credit cards off the ground and going into stores with it
I must confess that I actually did once find a credit card on the ground while walking through an outdoor parking lot--and I did start using it in stores.
It was one of those mini cards some banks issued that were designed to go on a key ring for convenience. From the wear on it, it had been out there at least a couple days.
When I picked it up I had every intention of reporting it to the bank. However, when I picked it up and saw the name and photo--they were mine!
I pulled out my key ring and sure enough, my card was missing. I didn't use that card much, but still, I used my key ring several times a day so I have no idea how I failed to notice that it was missing.
As to how it fell off, there was a hole in the corner for the key ring to go through, and the card had cracked between the hole and the edge. The next two times my bank issues to me new cards and included a key right card, the same kind of crack developed. I stopped using them after that as the risk of losing them seemed to high.
Bank of America stopped issuing them in 2010, after 8 years. I wonder if it had anything to do with a high lost card rate?
