(Real) Pictures of Credit Cards

[Anonymous]

Just a random question about taking a picture of a credit card. If someone were to take a picture of their card and post it, obviously they would want to cover up obvious identifiable information... but I've also seen pictures where people purposely conceal the chip/magnetic strip. Is this necessary? Are there security risks if these aren't covered up?

[K-in-Boston]

No information can be obtained from a mag stripe or EMV chip from a photograph.  EMV chips can only be read electronically.  Mag stripes do have magnetic data that can be seen visually, but you would need physical access to the card and chemicals in order to reveal it.

[Jnbmom]

Not sure why one would want to post a picture of the actual card ?

[Anonymous]

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@Jnbmom wrote:

Not sure why one would want to post a picture of the actual card ?

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The examples that lead to my question were someone posting a picture in an approval or discussion thread, and some "customer pictures" on Etsy of people who bought custom credit card skins. Another example that comes to mind would be maybe a credit card unboxing/review video on YouTube.

And ty @K-in-Boston for the answer!

[mxp114]

A lot of us love looking at the actual cards. I love seeing real pictures of cards. The official artwork doesn't always do a good job of showcasing a card. 

[K-in-Boston]

Another example would be my signature.  Since I'm a veteran, PenFed decided to send my replacement Power Cash Rewards (the first had expired) with the flag design rather than the blue everyone else has (and I had).  There is no image of that variation anywhere on their website, so I Photoshopped out my name, expiration date and most of the card number (first six digits are the same BIN for everyone) to use in my signature.