RFID Protection
 

I have surfed the archives for insight on whether we need sleeves for our 3 chip credit cards and chip passport. Most posts were not current. I got the impression they were not necessary.

So what is the Fodorite party line n this one?

Do you use them at home? If not, I would say no. Also it is way easier to get an RDIF wallet. The sleeves are a royal pain.

Don't use at home. Thanks for the feedback Will look at the wallets at REI today.

I have surfed the archives for insight on whether we need sleeves for our 3 chip credit cards and chip passport>>

what is a sleeve in this context? I've never heard of one.

For a wallet, also look on travel supply websites like Magellans.com & travelsmith.com.

What the heck is a sleeve? We have chip and pin credit cards and European credit cards and have never heard of such a thing. Don't even know what an RDIF wallet is. We live in Europe and don't use anything fancy to carry stuff about in.

Here you are, St C - a solution to a problem you didn't even know existed.

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/what-ar...hould-you-buy/

How have we managed without one?

StCirq the sleeve is like a little "paper" envelope for each card that prevents it from being scanned. There is also a passport sized one. The problem is that it is very hard to get the cards or passports out of them when you need to. Someone gave them to me when I was going to travel. I tried them out and found it was easier to put the sleeve in my wallet on top of my card. Basically, I don't bother with them.

Gosh, annhig, thank you. I don't how we've survived.

Link below to info on RFID sleeves.

For the price, I say 'why not?' But, I admit, the only RFID sleeve I use at home is on my toll road transponder so that I can be sure it doesn't get read when I don't want it to be.

https://www.amazon.com/Credit-Passpo...SXPD1606H4RY5C

To avoid shipping, they're also available cheap at places like Office Depot, Staples, REI.

FWIW, I find the credit card ones easy to use. I got mine at REI.

AAA has a travel purse with said protection. Lots of places for 'stuff'!

If you have a credit card or other bank pass which allows contactless payment it has an RFID chip in it. If you don't it doesn't. The RFID chi is not the chip which is visible on the card, but one embedded within the plastic under the contactless payment symbol (a bit like the WiFi symbol on your phone).

I have an RFID bankcard, and it came with little sleeve. I don't use the sleeve as the card won't fit in my card holder in it. I tried paying for something without removing the card and failed. Doesn't mean someone couldn't skim it if they tried hard enough I guess.
My OV Chipkaart, needed for public transport in the Netherlands also has an RFID (as do Oyster cards in London).
DH has a credit card with an RFID. Mine doesn't have one, just the normal chip.

If you are really worried about it and are sure you have an RFID chip then use a sleeve (or some aluminium foil), but I wouldn't fret too much about it.

there is a limit of £30 on contactless cards in the UK, and the banks will refund any losses due to fraud.

So far I've managed to carry several of them and use them around without incident. Ditto my electronic passport.

I do admire the marketing though.

Tom Cruise in 'Mission Impossible 37' will scan any card from the top of the Eiffel Tower.
However in the normal life I have never heard of somebody being scanned that way.
But for those who believe in plot theories, this is the thing to buy.

Never had such nonsense and think its all a marketing ploy.. buy this.. buy that.. buy this over priced "travel wallet" or " travel purse".. dozens and dozens of trips to Europe and never used either.

When I got my global entry card, it came with a little sleeve. I have a stack of sleeves for credit cards - I carry one of my cards in a sleeve (mostly because it distinguishes it from the other credit cards in my wallet and I only use that card for particular things). I agree that the sleeves are a bit of a pain. I suppose if it was was a real danger, I'd start putting all of my credit cards into sleeves. But so far, it seems more theoretical than real.

RFID is not "nonsense" nor hypothetical. I use a sleeve for some passes when I may carry them with other things, to protect them (a ski pass, for example) from being accidentally scanned when I don't want them, like someone mentioned about a car pass. London Oyster cards have RFID, also, and passports.

I think the main concern would be the passport if you think some criminal may be scanning the info to clone it, but this isn't a worry to me. That is possible. I wouldn't worry about it for the credit card stuff as you are protected, anyway, although again, in theory, some could be scanned for into to use for fraudulent purchases but you are protected, anyway.

My understanding is that a simple piece of aluminum foil will prevent any scanning.

"...a simple piece of aluminum foil will prevent any scanning."

Kind of like a foil hat protects against government sponsored mind control and, hopefully, brain-sucking aliens?

Thanks all.

To heck w/ it. I'll spend my money on beer and sauerkraut!

Foolfor France, you're a man to my liking.
Youcan change your name inoto foolforgermany if you wish !

Ja!

FWIW, if you do have a contactless debit card, there are regular warnings on the London Underground about making sure you touch in and out of the ticket barriers with the same card, and keep them sufficiently far apart, to avoid the system charging both cards a penalty fare.

But AFAIK, simply keeping such cards in separate slots in a wallet is enough when carrying them around. My RFID travel pass is in a slot that folds out of the wallet when I use it on a ticket reader, and AFAIK they've never read the RFID debit card elsewhere in the wallet.

We had this thread discussion three years ago.

I used to work in the industry and there are different types of RFID with different ranges from which the chips can be scanned. Hence the touch type are designed to work very close to the scanner, which generates an electric/magnetic field (physics 101) to drive the chip as well as read the responses from the chip.

Other RFIDs work to greater distances. This is dependent on aerial size (yes they manage to fit one of those into many cards as well), the frequency of the signal etc etc.

My own practise, is to have two sheets of aluminium (aluminum) in my wallet between which my various cards sit. Testing with a variety of field generators at work showed that this was sufficient to ensure the chips did not "wake up". If they don't wake up (get powered on) then a fraudster unit cannot talk to them.

Other more "sophisticated" faraday cages look like great marketing but seem to offer poor protection.

However, none of this really helps when you hand your card to a waiter and he walks off to use it in the back office. Never let the thing out of your sight (and "your hand" would be better).

<i>I do admire the marketing though. </i>

Yes, I wish I had thought of it.

foolforfrance -

Never mind the sleeve, keep in mind many businesses in Germany prefer cash to credit cards, especially in small towns.

My experience in Germany is that an ATM card is more useful than a credit card, other than at hotels, etc.

I am always surprised when I read these comments.
I am quite often in Germany and use credit card everywhere.
usually in cities, ok, but also in small towns.
And I have never used a debitcard in Germany.
Maybe when given the choice, they prefer cash.

By ATM card, I mean cash Whathello.

We were in Germany for three weeks last December, and cash seemed the payment of choice (and sometimes only option), yet we were in many small towns.

Perhaps we frequent different establishments:)