nukesafe

I just read an an article that talks about hackers being able to remotely access the information on the RFID chips on the new U.S. passports, driver's licenses, and border crossing cards by using equipment easily obtained on eBay. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,531720,00.html

Does anyone know if this is a problem with the chips embedded in European credit cards?

logos999

Those aren't RFID but common wired chips. The pins need to have mechanical contact to the reader.

avalon

You can buy wallets and card holders that protect cards with RFID chips. Travelsmith and Magellen bot carry them

chartley

I'm surprised that the Murdoch owned Fox News should be outraged at this invasion of privacy. In the U.K. it is the same outfit that bugs the phone conversations of private individuals.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009...-media-payouts

xyz123

The vermin either in Nigeria or in Eastern Europe where these credit card/identity theft rings operate are very good at bypassing many of the safeguards banks try to establish to protect themselves and at the same time their customers.

The "best" scam I heard of regarding chip and pin cards was some merchants received terminals that had something put into them that not only authorized the purchases but transmitted the data to them and then the cards could be cloned.

No system, alas, is foolproof.

ira

Hi nuke,

The article also appeared elsewhere. It claims that the new RFIDs are active devices that transmit, not passive devise that simply echo.

If it bothers you, wrap your card holder in Al foil.

nukesafe

Thanks for the suggestion, Ira, but that would be too much foil. I already have my hat so lined to fend off alien mind control -- as I suspect do a number of the regulars on the Lounge.