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New ID Theft Risk

Identity Theft Protection for RFID Pickpocketing

Do you carry green credit cards in your wallet or purse? If not, do you have a black credit card or platinum credit? Are your credit cards environmental credit cards? You probably already know that regardless of the type of credit card that you carry, every time that you take your credit cards or debit cards out of your home they are vulnerable for theft. Every time that you use them to make a purchase, whether at a store, restaurant or any type of business, your credit cards are vulnerable to theft.

What if I told you that there is a new form of credit card and identity theft that many people aren’t even aware of? What if I told you that someone with the proper technology can simply walk by your and steal the information off of your credit cards or debit cards without your knowledge? What if I also told you that these people can steal your information without ever laying a finger on your wallet or purse? Have I got your attention yet?

There is a new type of credit card and identity theft that a large portion of the population is unaware of. It is called electronic pick pocketing and current statistics estimate nearly 140 million consumers are at risk. You may not already know this, but credit card and debit card issuers have been installing radio frequency identification (RFID) chips in credit cards for years. This chip is basically an electronic tag embedded in the card that carries all of the card’s information.

If your credit or debit card has a radio wave symbol on it, then you are one of the millions of people at risk for this type of identity theft. This same technology can also be found in driver’s licenses and passports, and there might even be a version of it in your pet’s ear. As a matter fact, every U.S. passport issued since 2006 has a RFID chip in it. More recently cell phone manufacturers have been implanting these chips into cell phone and it is already in use in Europe.

This technology was meant to do good, for example, it is convenient if you're paying for gas. The tiny RFID chip can be read remotely without the need to physically swipe the card.  This also means anyone with a skimmer, which is available for less than $100 online, can also get your information just by walking by you. It doesn't matter if your cards are in a wallet or purse because the skimmers can read through them. It is a scary thought and gives an entirely new meaning to high-tech identity theft.

Thousands of travelers and consumers can fall victim to this new form of theft without even knowing it. It’s not just travelers and consumers who are at risk, but anyone with government, military or even port of entry IDs. This is definitely a threat and because the chips are cheap, about $1.50 each, this technology is going to be become more and more commonplace. Granted that there haven’t been any reports of anyone having their identity stolen through these means, even if it has happened, you won’t find out until it is too late.

So now that you’ve been informed of this potential new threat, what can you do about it? How can you protect your credit card and debit card information and keep yourself and your loved ones from possibly falling prey to electronic pickpocketing? Well, Checks Unlimited has come out with a line of wallets and accessories that feature specialized RFID blocking materials. The new SecureMyID products from Checks Unlimited will help stop scanners from accessing credit card and debit card information. These types of items are already being used by government officials to help protect their information. SecureMyID™ Wallets and Accessories