Personal Security
RFID-blockers are designed to help insulate you from a very particular brand of electronic pickpocketing called RFID skimming. Some credit cards, passports, and driver’s licenses now
come with embedded radio frequency identification chips. When activated by an RFID reader, these chips transmit certain types of information wirelessly, so that you can verify your
identity or even make a purchase without swiping your card. The downside? Anyone with an RFID reader can activate those chips and pick up whatever information they’re designed to transmit.
And, if they’re sneaky about it, they can do it without your knowledge. Thieves and hackers have made headlines over the years by demonstrating how a handheld RFID reader can “skim”
sensitive information from people’s cards at a distance of several feet. They can get your name and country of origin from your passport. More alarmingly, in some demonstrations, RFID skimmers
have collected whole credit card numbers from the pockets of passersby. RFID-blocking wallets are designed to impede your cards’ RFID signals, making them harder to read remotely. |
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