November 10, 2006
Contactless Credit Card Confusion: Wrap That Rascal
Bruce Schneier, a writer for Wired Magazine, has his own blog that has a short post about the ability to skim information off the RFID chip on new contactless credit cards. This is a post worth reading for the comments by readers. Many of the commenters echo my feelings about contactless credit cards and the supposed time-savings they offer, not to mention their security flaws. One commenter, Nicholas, says that you gain almost nothing since while you don't have to take your credit card out of your wallet, you do have to take your wallet out of your pocket. In other words - whoop-de-do. And even that little bit of time savings may not last. A bit further down the post, reader Daniel asks what happens when people start carry two or more of these cards. How will store scanners know which card to charge?
These contactless credit cards are expected to become popular for small transactions, so security issues aside, the likelihood that consumers will carry more than one, is increased. A merchant's RFID reader would thus detect more than one card in your pocket, unless you use an anti-RF sleeeve or wallet.
If you don't use a sleeve (but you should - always use protection), that means you have to remove the desired card from your wallet/ purse. If you do use sleeves, then you still have to remove the right card - not just from your wallet but also from its sleeve. Where exactly is the time saving in that?
These are more reasons why I've said for some time that contactless credit cards are stupid idea that only benefit the issuing companies and the merchants, not the consumer. And they're presently more of a risk to carry than regular credit cards. But since they're probably here to stay, wrap that rascally card with an anti-RF sleeve - something issuing companies should already be doing for you.
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