Secure your credit card from ID theft!
Radio Frequency Chips Can Spill Your Secrets!
Why you need credit card sleeves: if you have a credit card that only has to touch a special display at your merchant, then you've got an RFID enabled card that can also be read by anyone with a similar device. ID thieves can use off-the-shelf technology to read your credit card number off the chip on your card, and then they can use it to make unauthorized charges on your account. Credit card sleeves protect you by enclosing each card in a protective shield that prevents radio signals from getting in or out. There are even sleeves available for passports to keep people from getting information off of them as well! It may sound paranoid, but an RFID chip is actually a tiny radio that sends out information when it gets the right kind of signal, and the chip doesn't have any way of identifying whether the signal is from the store or from a tech-savvy thief walking down the street with a small radio that can fit in a pocket. Given the right technology, a person could walk down the street and collect hundreds of credit card numbers without ever touching - or looking at- your credit card.
Do you really need credit card sleeves to protect your credit card information from data thieves? The answer may reduce your paranoia. First, your credit card number itself can’t be taken using electronic devices if you have an RFID or NFC chip inside your credit card, because the chip transmits an encrypted substitute for the credit card number. The bad news? A tech savvy organization could conceivably find a way to counterfeit a credit card that returns the signal from your card and use it in lieu of the credit card number on contactless readers. Naturally, there is a lot more technology in place for use with these terminals, and there is still fraud protection in place for the consumer, which may include the use of PIN numbers or secondary identification, since a person could just steal your credit card and try to pass it off at contactless readers that already exist. In the past, some RFID-enabled cards carried the cardholder’s name, but this has been changed due to security concerns. However, if you have a credit card that works through Visa Blink, MasterCard PayPass, or AMEX ExpressPay, a sleeve may be more useful when it comes to preventing unauthorized access.
Notes and Special Information
Special note: Not all credit cards have radio frequency chips in them, but the rise of contactless credit card readers is going to create a proliferation of smart cards that can either be read by passing them in front of a display or through other automated methods. In fact, RFID and NFC chips in phones will be a new form of payment.