Rfid credit cards

While appealing to both consumers and merchants, the convenience of RFID credit cards has a flip side. What a legitimate merchant terminal can read, a malicious scanning device can also read without a consumer's consent or knowledge. RFID credit cards therefore call for particularly careful security design.

Rather, what the RFID-CUSP report highlights most significantly is the new physical dimension of vulnerability that rfid credit cards introduce. Without even removing their cards from wallets or pockets, consumers can potentially see their privacy and security compromised. A scanner in a crowded subway station might surreptitiously harvest credit-card data from passersby. Or consider what the RFID-CUSP research team has dubbed a "Johnny Carson" attack. In the comedian's Carnac the Magnificent act, he divined the contents of sealed envelopes held against his forehead. Likewise, an attacker can quickly skim data from RFID credit cards in sealed envelopes while they are in transit or sitting in mailboxes.

The most common way to protect yourself from identity theft from RFID credit cards these days is to buy a protective wallet. There are now many types of RFID blocking passport cases and wallets. Some of them are very high-end, made with fine leather. The RFID blocking material lines the inside of the wallet or passport case, so they look like any other wallet or passport case. There is no need to settle for something that looks cheap, and these protective cases are very effective at protecting your RFID tagged passport or credit cards.