credit card transaction by means well known in the art it is the possibility of decoding this magnetic stripe that makes possible the widespread credit card fraud practiced today fig2 shows a second prior art credit card 34 having permanently displayed on the front face or surface 36 a fifteen digit number 38 representative of the cardholder 39 s debit or credit or bank account number also displayed on the front surface 36 are the expiration date 40 and cardholder 39 s name 42 again a magnetic stripe 44 is typically found on the back surface 46 of card 34 and contains at least the information displayed on the front surface 36 to process a transaction using the card 34 the seller again uses a card reader and slides at least the upper portion of card 34 through a slot to read the information stored on the magnetic stripe again this card provides no better solution to the problem of credit card fraud because of the possibility of decoding the magnetic stripe 44 to obtain all the necessary information to make counterfeit credit cards fig3 shows an improved secure credit or debit card 48 embodying the present invention this card has a first group of symbols 50 on the front face or surface 54 which may consist of one or more subgroups having an equal or different number of digits and a second group of symbols 52.