Credit Cards, RFID's, Identity Theft, Oh My
RFID chips have been at the center of a number of controversies over the years, and it seems the pot has not yet even reached a boil. The latest moral dilemma revolves around the growing use of RFID chips in credit cards, passports and other similar items.
If you don’t already have a credit card that allows you to simply swipe it at the register, as opposed to handing it over to the clerk, then you soon will. It is the future of credit cards (among other things), and while you might be able to opt out now, within a few years, there won’t be anything to opt out to. But why would you want to opt out?
Good question. Here’s why. Credit card companies argue that this technology greatly increases safety and security. Opponents argue that it puts people at an even greater risk. However, as the end of the video below will demonstrate, we are on two entirely different wavelengths.
At the end of the KTLA video, the anchor asks the reporter why, if the credit card companies are responsible for stolen card purchases, they would possibly put out a less secure card. Unfortunately, the reporter only responds by saying that the credit card companies do feel that this is much more secure. But again, two different wavelengths.
What we have here is called a category error, whereby one person is referring to one thing and the other is referring to something different. In our case, the anchor, when he thinks of security, only thinks of the possibility of fraudulent purchases. Opponents, on the other hand, are not so concerned with fraudulent purchases as they are with identity theft. There are two different kinds of “risk” being referred to here.
I’m with the opponents on this one. I appreciate that I no longer have to hand over my card to a waiter who takes it “out back” where I have to trust that he is not writing anything down. I can see how this scanning technology could theoretically be easier for both the user and the credit card companies. That said, and as the video demonstrates, it is extremely easy (and cheap) to steal information from this type of card (or passport, etc.). It’s the information on the card, and not merely the credit card number, that I am concerned about.
Less than a year ago there were still stories on the news about scrupulous people using hip mounted magnetic scanners and the like to quickly steal information on credit cards. The notion is certainly not foreign, nor is the risk. To think that it has become less of an issue now is naive. If anything, today the risk is greater than ever. The chips are showing up in more and more items and the technology to read them is cheap and easy to come by. Ebay and various gadget shops have been selling these kinds of items through catalogs and online for decades. If you or I can pick up a scanner legally, there is no reason to think that a criminal couldn’t do the same, and with even less of a hassle.
So, with that, let’s hand it over to KTLA Channel 5 in Los Angeles, for their report. When you’re done there, if your interested, head over to Identity Stronghold (it’s the same think they refer to in their report) to see what products they offer to combat this little, but significant, security loophole. With a little foresight, this situation might end in greater convenience and security, which is seldom a given when people are forced to adopt the technology of government or big business.
