And they say writing a check is a bad idea....

I was doing some web surfing and came across a gem of a topic in the form of an article on how to hack credit card information via the RFID chip embedded in newer credit cards. The idea behind it is quite simple and its effectiveness is quite alarming. This article was presented by Boing Boing TV and it shows hacker and inventor Pablos Holman show off a credit card scanner that he bought off ebay for about 8 dollars. When he connects this piece of equipment to his computer and run a program he simply has to talk up to where ever your wallet may be and pass the scanner across it. In nearly an instant the 8 dollar scanner will pick up any trace of the RFID that may be embedded within your credit card and simultaneously steal your credit card number, name, expiration date and any other stored information within the chip. It nearly took all of about 3 seconds to rub the card on someones rear end or wallet for the program to take all the information.

It's alarming to think that an 8 dollar piece of equipment, some simple wiring to the computer and a click of the mouse can net you a fresh credit card ready for all the online shopping it can handle. But fear not all is not lost and you don't have to toss those cards out yet. There is a weakness to this form of theft. The card reader cannot pass its signals through a stainless steel wallet. For those that dont mind the retro looking wallet you could always keep your cards concealed in one of these. Other then that the only piece of advice I could offer a potential target is to keep an eye of where you keep your wallet and dont let casual strangers hold scanners near its location because chances are they are treasure hunting and its your "booty" they're after. Hopefully anyone who reads this won't become a target but in a world where identity theft is always around us, you need to protect yourself and become aware of your surroundings. Credit of the article goes to the website I found it on and Boing Boing TV as well as the author of the article. The link is located here