Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Security Tip: Electronic Pickpockets

In November of 2009,  we took a trip to Buffalo, New York. On the way back to South Carolina, someone somehow got hold of my credit card info and ran up a bill of many hundreds of dollars.

My credit card company detected the fraud, and we were not held liable for the purchases, but the experience made us more aware than ever of the need for credit card security. Thanks to RPC for the link to the video below.
 
I remember reading somewhere that you can use Mylar film (the tough, aluminized plastic that's used in space suits & potato chip bags) to block radio frequency waves. Perhaps I should wrap my credit cards in the stuff before I put them in my wallet.

4 comments:

The Warrior said...

Been hearing about this recently myself. Nasty stuff. One more reason to go back to frontier ways.

And I only saw the mylar thing in a movie (Gene Hackman helping out Will Smith, haha).

Spencer

Craig Mutton said...

I'm pretty sure I never saw that movie. Don't recall where I ran across the Mylar tidbit. Seems it may have been in reference to the tracking chip in cell phones, but I can't say for certain.

Bruce said...

I believe it was in 08 that someone attempted a scam on my card. I was over to Canada. It had to be a reader, and I think it happened when the car I rode in stopped for gas. I remember some stranger walking by real close.

Here's what they tried: not knowing where I'd come from, the crooks ran a minuscule purchase at a laundromat in Rochester, NY. Well, that was stopped cold by the bank that issued me the card.

Here's the best part--more important than the minor test-purchase, out of my ordinary, the main reason it was flagged was: I was carrying a card I seldom if ever use, and ... it was expired.

I had at least one active card in my wallet, and I don't know if they only got the one read, or decided not to push their luck.

Craig Mutton said...

Bruce, it's always great when Providence turns Murphy's Law against the bad guys.