12/08/10, 10:00 pm: On Monday night, I did a story on a relatively new form of identity theft: electronic pick- pocketing.
Apparently, someone can steal my credit card information right through my wallet, if my card contains a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chip.
To see what it looks like: check the picture posted with this blog. The symbol reminds me of the audio symbol on a computer. But I digress.
The RFID chip is a type of wireless transmitter, and contains my account number and expiration date. If I don’t want to swipe my card, I can wave it in front of a reader. This could make my transaction up to 20 seconds faster, according to J.P. Morgan Chase, which added the “blink” technology several years ago.
It could also put me at risk for identity theft. Scammers can buy card readers, along with a computer (a Netbook, for example) and use them to scan and store information. All they have to do is walk by me with this scanner turned on, and it can record the information.
I find this frustrating – because I don’t want this chip. I am perfectly content to swipe my card and rely on the magnetic strip to make purchases. I don’t really need to save 20 seconds at the store. I check my credit report(s) once a year, and watch my online accounts and bills like a hawk. But as long as I have this chip, someone could steal my information.
While I was searching YouTube for video of these scanners and RFID chips, I found some videos that teach people how to disable them. One video which suggests locating the chip (on the Chase cards, it’s near the “blink” logo on the back - just look closely and you can see the outline) then using a hole punch to remove it. However, if you hit the magnetic strip, the card becomes useless. And let’s be honest, I would probably mess this up.
There is also a company called ID Stronghold that sells protective sleeves for these cards. They’re available for credit cards, enhanced licenses and passports. And, in an interesting local twist, these sleeves are manufactured in Macedon!
The name of the company: Information Packaging. They started in 1985, manufacturing envelopes. Now they employ more than 40 people, and make millions of these sleeves!
This is not, by the way, an advertisement. I just thought I’d share some “news you can use.” Try the sleeve, use a hole punch, or whatever your little heart desires to remove this chip (just don’t hurt yourself!!) Or ignore me. Just be careful with your personal and financial information. If it’s stolen once, it can happen again, and again, and again.
-Elizabeth Schubert
