Skimming Goes to a New Level

Most people have heard of skimming—the act in which the magnetic strip on the back of your credit or debit card is scanned or swiped and the information is stored on a device identity thieves use to capture information so they can later use it fraudulently. This is a common practice in restaurants because consumers generally allow their cards to be taken out of their line of site when a waiter or waitress goes to process the payment. The waiter or waitress can then swipe a card twice—once in a skimmer and once in the actual credit card machine—and innocent victims don’t know any better.

But there’s a new kind of skimming in town, and this one might be even more difficult to protect against. Many credit and debit cards are now being constructed with radio frequency identification (RFID) chips embedded into them. Having information stored in a chip is supposedly safer than having it stored in the traditional magnetic strip due to extra layers of encryption. But this new technology has also presented new problems, and it most certainly has its critics.

Apparently, the cards aren’t as encrypted as they are advertised to be because skeptics have tried skimming these new RFID cards and have had nothing but great success. In fact, the radio frequency signal is so strong on these cards that skimmers can even read through envelopes, shirt pockets and wallets. This puts consumers at a significantly higher risk of identity theft because their mail and their credit cards are now without protection from ever lurking identity thieves.

Although creators of the cards tend to bristle at the criticism, and explain that many cards skimmers aren’t enabled to obtain the three digit security code on the back. Encryption or no encryption, security code or no security code, tests results prove that people have been able to make actual purchases from online retailers using information skimmed through an envelope. The scariest part of that is that the cards in question were newly issued cards that hadn’t even been officially activated yet.

Since identity theft and mail fraud have been known to go hand in hand for years, it’s not a surprise that an identity thief would go looking in a stranger’s mailbox for a big pay day. In the past, thieves have stolen mail or shamelessly had it rerouted to another address by filling out a change of address form. But the party never lasted long before the rightful owner noticed something was missing from his or her mail.

But the game is played differently now with RFID cards and the stakes are higher. All an identity thief has to do is come within a few inches to a few feet or your mail with a skimmer device turned on (the proximity from which a skimmer can read card info is still being widely debated). Your card number could be stolen before you even get home from work, but when you check your mail your new card would still be there waiting for you just as expected. The crime wouldn’t likely be detected until the initial 30-day cycle came to an end and your first bill came in the mail. By then, an identity thief could have run rampant with your card.

So what’s a consumer to do?

1. Ask a lot of questions before you agree to switch to a RFID card. If you are notified by your bank or credit card issuer that they will be making a switch to RFID (sometimes referred to as “contactless payment”), ask a lot of questions about security and encryption before you agree to have your card switched over. And don’t just take their word for it. Don’t be shy about asking them for proven independent test results that back up their claims of super strong encryption. Make sure you also ask about their policy if someone commits fraud with your card number. A bank that is sure of its system will back it up with a 100% fraud protection guarantee (in writing). Remember, your identity is at stake. Not theirs. Be proactive about identity protection.

2. Use a locked mailbox and a protected wallet. If you want to eliminate any form of mail fraud, the easiest way to do that is to use a locked mailbox that won’t allow anyone to gain access to your mail once it’s been dropped off by the mail man. And only mail bills and other sensitive information from locked United States Postal Services boxes. If you fear that your wallet may be leaving you vulnerable to skimming identity thieves, you can look into purchasing the new RFID Shielded Wallet from Rogue Wallet.

3. Purchase ID Secure. Of course, the most comprehensive approach to identity theft isn’t to focus on protecting yourself from just one form of the crime but to work on protecting yourself from being victimized in any way. Because some things about protecting your identity are just beyond your control, purchasing a product like ID Secure might greatly increase your peace of mind as well as the level of protection guarding your identity. For just $1 for the first month, and $12.99 a month after that, a professional identity monitoring company will use advanced web crawling technology to search the internet and public records to make sure that your social security number, credit and ATM cards and other personal information isn’t being fraudulently used in any way. ID Secure makes sure your identity is being monitored 24 hours a day seven days a week helping to keep it safe. If fraudulent activity is suspected, you will be informed immediately. You can learn more by clicking here.         

With new technology comes a new risk of identity theft. Until banks learn to work out all of the kinks in the RFID system, don’t leave yourself vulnerable. Take a proactive approach to identity theft and protect yourself today.