Phantom credit card charges

spicyayam

I have seen some facebook posts about people saying their credit cards have been charged without their knowledge and at least in one case they never even used it in Bali. People are now suggesting to put their cards in protective sleeves. Does this really do anything? This is what I found from doing a quick search

A few years ago, those RFID chip cards were the subject of many TV news "investigations" and laboratory tests, which showed that it is possible for thieves armed with only an inexpensive piece of electronic equipment to receive the radio waves coming from RFID chip cards. They just need to pass within a few feet of the card. Think of people crowded against you on a subway or in an elevator, or somebody walking by you in the supermarket aisle -- all are potential electronic pickpockets. Businesses started making and marketing sleeves and even wallets that blocked the signals. Most card fraud experts, though, say the risks are tiny, compared with more prevalent card fraud techniques such as hacking into databases to steal information or installing devices onto card readers to "skim" card data. From the point of view of a criminal, those methods might be a more efficient way to gather card data en masse, as opposed to surreptitiously approaching people one-by-one on public transportation.

[LEFT][COLOR=#000000] Read more: Card shields protect against low risk of RFID theft [/COLOR][/LEFT] Is this something to worry about?

Markit

Since the pin number is on the chip, yes, possibly. The RF tags do not "send" any data at all but need to be exposed to an inductive loop that powers them up and then reads the "sent" information and that's where the story looses credibility as inductive loops large enough to "harvest" cards are not that mobile. Unless that tech has changed a lot...? I also believe there is a code required to access the chip information.

Steve Rossell

I have a few different accounts at my disposal but only one that I use as a day to day ATM debit card. In this account there is only enough for my needs and the rest is kept in more secure accounts that require PIN, online access number, password and finally a random security number from a little jigger that sends a request before transfers are allowed and once received holds it for about 15 or 20 seconds before becoming invalid. On top of that security is a block on transferring funds above a certain limit unless I actively engage with a banking rep' from my bank, jump through some more hoops and change it. These precautions may not be fool proof but most crim's prefer easy pickings. I am no security expert and I don't really have IT knowledge beyond a basic level.......really basic.....but these measures were in place a long time before I came to stay in Bali.

ronb

Since the pin number is on the chip, yes, possibly. ...................

My understanding is that the PIN number is not on the card either in the magnetic strip or the RFID chip if there is one. Do you have any source that says the PIN is there? These cards are using a form of multi-factor security where the ATM needs: * something you possess (the card) * something you know (the PIN) and the idea is that if your card is stolen, you are protected because the thief does not have the PIN. If the PIN was placed on the card in any form it would break the security model. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-factor_authentication

Markit

Sorry I just assumed the pin was on the magnet strip as the verification at the ATM is way too fast for it to have contacted your bank and received your pin for corroboration - particularly if you are not using your bank's ATM... But what do I know?