RFID Skimming Protection

In this age of digital information, you need RFID skimming protection.  Thieves these days are using electronic devices called “skimmers”, and from a few feet away, can steal your personal information from driver’s licenses, passports, and credit cards.

RFID wallets are designed to keep these modern day pickpockets away from your information by the use of a smallFaraday cage which offers RFID skimming protection.  Because passports, credit cards, and driver’s licenses now have Radio Frequency Identification Chips, which broadcast different types of information wirelessly in order to verify your identity or make a purchase remotely so you do not even have to swipe your card.  While convenient, this technology opens up the possibility of having your cards RFID skimmed by a reader without your knowledge!

Without the use of an RFID skimming protection, a thief, from a few feet away, could “skim” your name and country of origin from your passport.  Other skimming devices can grab *all* of your credit card information simply by walking by you in a crowded area such as a mall or airport.

Hackers Prove Need for an RFID Wallet

Hackers at various conferences have demonstrated why we need to use RFID wallets. For just a couple of hundred dollars worth of equipment that anyone can purchase, RFID equipped credit cards can easily and undetectably be skimmed to get the card’s number and expiration date, and the one-time CVV number used by RFID equipped cards that are used to authenticate payments at any number of wireless Point of Sale (POS) terminals.

These wireless, RFID enabled cards are quite common, and according to theSmart Card Association, there are more than 100 million of them in use today.  A thief with a reader on his or her person could simply bump into you and steal this information in under a second.  Back in 2006, the New York Times published an article in the Business section entitled “Researchers See Privacy Pitfalls in No-Swipe Credit Cards”, and if it could be done way back then, imagine how sophisticated these scanners are today!

Just a few weeks ago, a Facebookpost went viral depicting a would-be thief using a Point of Sale (POS) device to skim the cards of people a train.  Because almost all new bank and credit cards in the United Kingdom have these contactless, RFID chips, all a person needs to do is get close to you, “skim” the card remotely, and make a small transaction of less than £30, which does not require a PIN.

Use an RFID Skimming Protection

As the use of technology increases and we become more and more plugged into the internet, so will the number of thieves trying to steal your personal information.  If there are stylish and durable methods to protect your passport, driver's license, and credit cards, why not use them?  Something as simple as buying an RFID wallet can protect you and your family from malicious intent.