[MetroMan]

In my building's laundry room, we have a smart card terminal. Right over the PIN pad, there's a security camera. The camera is no doubt positioned to capture activity in the room, not to steal people's PIN numbers but I'm uncomfortable with the fact that anybody with access to this footage can acquire PIN numbers of virtually everybody in the building.

Is it legal to position a security camera in such a position that compromises the integrity of personal information, not meant to be shared?

 

[Prometheus The Supremo]

i'd talk to the police about it.

 

[Observer Walt]

That's pretty poor placement for the camera. I would definitely complain about it. In the meantime, perhaps drape one of your dirty shirts over the keypad to conceal your PIN.

 

[cacruden]

I always open my wallet and place it just above my hand on the keypad, then use as little movement as possible to type in my PIN. It is always a good idea to obstruct any view when entering your PIN since cameras can be very small and easily concealed. Just because your paranoid, does not mean someone is not looking. Personally, I would like my bank (the most common PIN I use) to move towards a SecurID fob in addition to the PIN, I would pay the $50 for the fob. (SecurID if you don't know is a "random" number generator - every 30 seconds or so) both sides will be able to figure out the sequence within a number or two generated - so even if someone stole the number -- it would not be useful after a minute or so.

 

[MetroMan]

I'm going to mention it to the building management but I don't expect them to do anything about it. Both the camera and terminal are hard wired into the walls so moving either one wouldn't be easy.

If this is clearly illegal, I'd like to know for sure before I report it to the appropriate body.