RFID Fraud
I often see Lori Leland on HSN selling RFID blocking cards that you put in your wallet or purse and it will supposedly “protect” you from identity theft. During her presentation, she will hold up a credit card and point to the little chip in the card calling it an RFID chip and she will claim that the RFID chip will broadcast your personal information out to anyone with a scanner app on their smartphone.
It really bothers me when such misinformation is being put upon us. Yes, more and more credit cards are being issued with that little chip embeded in them. But that chip is NOT an RFID chip. It is called an EMV chip. Furthermore, it will NOT broadcast any personal information such as your name, address, or credit card number. The EMV chip will generate a unique transaction code every time you insert your card into the point of sale card reader. Once that code is used, it cannot be used again, so it would be worthless to a thief. This is what makes the chip enabled card more secure.
RFID blocking technology is unnecessary and will do nothing to “protect” you because the EMV card is not susceptible to the electronic pickpocketing that Lori claims. The only RFID fraud being committed here is by the salespeople who try to scare people into buying something that they don’t really need.
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I guess you all never stop to think when you go to restaurants & give your card to the server to pay & they walk away with your card that they don’t either use one of the cheap scanners that are sold online or use their cell phone to take a quick pic of your card & then they innocently walk back with your card. When I go out to eat & finish, I always walk up to the bar part of the restaurant & hand them my card & watch the transaction go thru & get my card back right away. Just one of the fraud tidbits I learned while working in banking. YOU would be very, very surprised what steps people will do & you would have to take your credit card out of your little RFID slip to give your server your card. Food for thought…………
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They’re making unsubstantiated claims about the need for buying RFID protection for passports too. The RFID chips in passports are embedded in the cover. The cover of the passport has RFID blocking material in it, and the passport must be opened in order for the RFID chip to be read. They’ve been made this way since 2007.
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I’m still using mine and find it easy to quickly identify certain cards. I want to use my husband’s cc first:womanhappy:
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I have no cards with a chip, so will continue to keep all my credit and debit/ATM cards in sleeves, including my passport (which I must have with me at all times at work). I’ll take the extra precaution and continue to use the sleeves…I got a great deal on a big pack. Besides, they work great to protect the card as well…Better safe than sorry.
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It sounds too good to be true to me:)
Thank you for information:)
Good luck everybody:)
Peace and love:)
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You can do the same thing as what she is selling by folding aluminum foil over it self 3 times and laying your cc on it and folding it over the card before putting it in your wallet.
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I just watched the video for 451-817. I wonder if Lori is knowingly lying, or did someone lie to her and she’s unknowingly passing on bad information? She refers to an EMV chip as if it’s an RFID chip, and says everyone is getting them and can’t opt out of them. They’re both totally different things.
Another scare they’re throwing out there is that the thieves can steal information from up to 30 feet, but this is never demonstrated.
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I decided that it wouldn’t hurt to have them, so I keep a few of the cards at home. For future travels, I Will use them.
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Robot7,
Thank you so much for that valuable information. I was given an RFID wallet as a gift and I still use it. I am intrigued by the EMV chip though. Thanks for the research. So true about the pickpocketing…you are not protected if your purse gets stolen. It is quicker to report cards stolen in order to put a stop to purchases as soon as possible. And RFID does not protect you when you are making purchases online. There is constant hacking every minute in people’s credit cards. Maybe one of the things to do is pay a monthly fee to the companies that provide such protection. -
The first time I saw them presented I did a bit of research and quickly determined I did not need them. And wrapping your cards in tin foil would do the same thing as those sleeves (wallets, purses).
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I have always felt the RFID sleeves, wallets, purses, etc., are nothing more than a way to separate frightened, uneducated people from their hard-eanred money. This, in my opinion, is far more heinous than credit card fraud.
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People are more likely to have their information stolen because of their own stupidity, rather than another person’s ingenuity.
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I think you are right. It has been my thinking all along. I recently asked my bank representative about it and she Again advised me not to worry about it.
But, the sellers on the networks are saying that crooks can obtain address, name, etc. from your drivers license and if you stay in a hotel, crooks can obtain your hotel room number .
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Juliegal,
Here your song. Rex Smith was hot back in the day. Everyone remembers him. Now it’s all coming baack!
Happy Valentines Day:heart:
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You
I don’t know what to say
You take my breath away
You’re every song I sing
You’re the music that I play
And you take my breath awayYou
You smile and it’s okay
You take my breath away
Like water from a stream
On a sizzling summer day
Oh, you take my breath away
There are words
For the magic of a sunrise
Only none of them will due
For You
You take my breath away
And I don’t know what to say
‘Cause you take my breath awayYou
You take my breath away
And I don’t know what to say
‘Cause you take my breath away
You take my breath away
You take my breath awayYou take my breath away
Oh, you take my breath away
Conversation Info
Posted in Electronics
18 Replies
02.13.15 7:28 PM
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