On Fri, 11 Nov 2005, Sammy wrote:

I like to keep my old bank cards intact and use them for jobs around
the house. My worry is that the data on the magnetic strip can still
be read.

What is the best way to destroy that data without messing up the card
for D-I-Y work.

I had cause to test this recently with mag stripe cards we use at work.

A few wipes with a rare earth metal magnet from a hard drive will usually
do the trick.

It is probably a good idea to sandpaper off the mag stripe and signature
strip including card verification value. There is significantly more
information on the mag stripe than appears embossed on the card, but the
card itself may be potentially more useful to fraudsters than the
information in it.

I don't think a microwave oven would be a particularly good way of erasing
a magnetic strip but it would probably be a good way of ensuring that any
smart chip never functions again.

--
Alistair Riddell - BOFH
Microsoft - because god hates us