IE 11 Not Supported

For optimal browsing, we recommend Chrome, Firefox or Safari browsers.

Radio Frequency ID Chips May be a Data Theft Dud

And that's a good thing. The security of RFID chips has been called into question on many occasions, but an industry expert says there's no reason to be concerned.

(TNS) -- The ads sound ominous: “Using RFID scanners, today’s thieves can hijack your personal and financial data from across the room.” The warning, contained in a popular travel gear catalog, refers to radio frequency identification chips found in certain credit cards and embedded in all U.S. passports since 2007. The ads tout specially lined wallets, purses and travel bags to block skimmers and to keep card numbers and other data safe.

Should you be worried?

According to one industry expert, the short answer is no.

“People are trying to make money by scaring you,” said Mark Roberti, editor and founder of the online publication RFID Journal in Hauppauge, N.Y.

Radio frequency chips used for contactless card payments — the kind where consumers tap their cards or wave them in front of a reader instead of swiping them — are designed with security codes that change with each transaction.

That means that if a thief with a powerful skimmer were able to capture the card data — possibly from up to 3 feet away — and create a counterfeit card, the card would only be good for one transaction, Mr. Roberti said.

“When you think about it, [hackers] stole millions of card numbers from Target,” he said. “Why spend time going around trying to get close to someone’s wallet to use one time?”

“There’s never been a single documented case of anyone having their credit card information stolen this way,” he said. “I wouldn’t be concerned about it.”

News stories about the potential threat have caused some card issuers to back away from RFID technology, “more because of perception than reality,” Mr. Roberti said.

Cards using radio frequency chips — the same technology that is employed in a variety of industries for such things as inventory tracking, ID badges and toll collection — can be identified by a special icon they carry consisting of four curved lines that get increasingly bigger, similar to a rippling wave.

When it comes to U.S. passports, special security features make breaches extremely unlikely, Mr. Roberti said.

Passport chips — which contain a digital version of the passport photograph plus some personal information such as name, nationality, sex and date of birth — are shielded by a layer of metallic anti-skimming material in the front cover to block access when the passport is closed. In addition, the chip requires a reader to authenticate itself before sharing information.

To steal passport data, “You would have to be really close to someone, they’d have to have their passport open and you’d need a special reader,” he said. “Pretty hard to do all that. Easier to pickpocket the person and grab their passport.”

For people who still have concerns, Mr. Roberti recommends skipping the special gear and going with a low-cost solution.

“Frankly, tin foil works just as well,” he said. “Line your wallet with tin foil.”

©2015 the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC