A relatively unknown public safety tool every time you swipe | Opinion

The holiday shopping season is underway, and I know we are all hyper-aware of credit card fraud and identity theft. Both crimes have ballooned into organized criminal operations that are no longer home-grown — they often span overseas while also proving to be a problem in Sacramento County.

In Sacramento County alone, there are hundreds of reported cases of identity theft and/or credit card fraud yearly. And fraud isn’t limited to consumers — small businesses are also victims of these crimes.

The good news is that banks, credit card companies and payment networks continue to improve and progress in early-prevention and enforcement methods of addressing credit card fraud. This is because credit card networks invest in modern fraud prevention systems which are an essential public safety tool to prevent victimization and aid local law enforcement. Payment processing costs that average about 2% of every transaction help pay for these ongoing investments and upgrades.

Every time you shop online or use a card for payment, the merchant pays a small fee to the bank for securely processing the payment. A portion of the electronic payment cost supports real-time fraud monitoring, a complex backend system that utilizes data, AI, technology and expertise to flag fraud within seconds of a suspicious transaction. This helps stop identity theft and financial fraud at the front end, which reduces funds available for organized theft rings, online exploitation schemes, drug trafficking and other criminal enterprises.

As a local captain, I can tell you that these costs are an investment in crime prevention.

When credit card networks automatically detect and stop fraud and quickly reimburse victims, it significantly reduces the number of cases that land on our desks at the Sacramento County Sheriff’s office. It allows us to focus our resources on violent crime, property crime and emergency response.

Additionally, many small businesses have opted to go cashless in Sacramento County, partly in response to the emerging threat of break-ins and robbery. Cash doesn’t just invite theft — it often invites violence.

Cash-heavy operations have long been prime targets for criminals. Unlike credit card numbers — which are typically stolen through data breaches or skimming devices and often require additional fraud tactics to exploit — cash is immediate, untraceable and highly tempting. No one robs a store for credit card numbers. But if a criminal knows there’s real money behind the counter, that store then becomes a target.

Yet, some of our state’s biggest retailers (Walmart, Home Depot, etc.) have been pushing the state legislature to change how credit and debit cards are processed in the form of Assembly Bill 1065, authored by Assemblymember Liz Ortega. This bill would force more small businesses back towards cash transactions.

Passing this legislation would be a dangerous mistake.

During my 26 years in law enforcement, I have investigated hundreds of violent robberies at small businesses and commercial operations. The pattern was always the same: criminals didn’t target businesses for their credit card machines or digital payment systems, they went where they knew cold, hard cash was waiting behind the counter for immediate use.

This is why electronic payments have also become a critical crime-prevention tool for some small businesses. Electronic transactions — credit, debit and contactless payments — help reduce the physical risks faced by clerks, customers and owners.

This context makes the recent legislative push of AB 1065 by major retailers so troubling. These corporate giants are lobbying California lawmakers to make electronic payment processing more expensive and cumbersome for smaller businesses.

Electronic payments aren’t just convenient, they’re often a lifeline for small businesses trying to stay safe and profitable. They support identity theft and fraud protection for consumers, so local law enforcement isn’t forced to use resources which could otherwise go towards public safety.

Any reforms to the payment system must take into account the real-world consequences for the people on the front lines. The focus should prioritize both the advancement of electronic payments and its practical application in public commerce.

Dustin Silva is captain of Sacramento County Sheriff’s Centralized Investigations Division and Organized Retail Crime Task Force.