money for nothing

recently in Vancouver there have been a number of debit card info thefts. 

someone figured out how to build replica key pads, where you enter your secret code after swiping your card, and managed to swap them for existing key pads in stores.

apparently all they needed to do was unplug and plug in. they later swapped them back for the originals, making off with all the data entered into the fakes ones during their feeding frenzie. 

my card was one of the unfortunate ones to be scanned and although they were unsuccessful in withdrawing any funds from my account, it was a royal pain in the butt to change cards and pin numbers, again and again and again. 

what i'd like to know is, with all the technology that's been floating around for decades, all the gazillion cases of fraud, identity theft, etc, why on earth haven't the banks figured out a way to add a photo to your banking details. scan a driver's licence, passport, ID card… i know i'd feel a whole lot better if a big honkin' photo of my mug popped up on the teller's screen when my card was scanned. 

or how about photos on the bank cards themselves... while we're at it, why not on credit cards as well... i think we should be able to fuse a mugshot onto pretty much anything we own if we like, bikes, umbrellas, cars steering wheels... resale value might go down a tad but...

moot or hooey?

overall, crime rates are much higher in western Canada than in eastern Canada