Banks must halt fraud

A friend’s credit cards were stolen, and by the time he notified his banks the next day, the thieves had maxed them all out. Since Thai banks consider all charges to be legitimate until they are informed otherwise, my friend is legally liable for charges of 1.5 million baht.

So, I suggest that:

1) Banks insure credit card customers against fraud from stolen cards, with customer liability set at a maximum of, say, 5,000 baht. Premiums would be passed on to customers, but costs would be minimised by making such coverage mandatory.

2) Alternatively, the above insurance could be optional.

3) Customers could require that banks call the client each time before charges above a client-chosen limit are approved.

BURIN KANTABUTRA