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ameerat42
27-08-2011, 4:00pm
Folks.
Recently I was thrust into modernity by being issued with a "Tap-and-Go" type Mastercard.
(But as yet I am not doing the St Vitus' Dance past such-enabled machines with a ninny of a grin on my face, so I'm still somewhere in the past, AND I still get a receipt.)

Soon afterwards, there were segments on TV which illustrated how vulnerable such modern types as my-now-self are to Radio Frequency ID (RFID) hacking.

Now apart from us here in Oz being blithely hacked, I thought, "What about those people travelling abroad, too, who also have RFID passports?"

So, who's aware of this and its implications? Who knows for sure if there are effective RFID shields into which one can secrete passports/cards?

A search for "RFID Shield" yields all sorts of anwers, Yes through No, and many tangents off to the sides. I was thinking of rigging up some thin metal plate "wallets", but then what about the contacts on the RFID chip?

Well, that's it.
Am. (Um? Ahem! etc.)

(BTW. What does one do with all the accrued leisure time from using such time-saving conveniences?)

Kym
27-08-2011, 4:38pm
Tim foil to go with the hat :D

Bennymiata
29-08-2011, 10:35am
All you need is a piece of metal foil either made up inside the wallet you carry the card in, or wrap the card in foil.

With some of the modern RFID readers, they can read and store thousands of codes in just seconds, and no-one would ever be the wiser.
However, they do need to get quite close to you to do so as the signal will usually travel a metre or so at best.

ameerat42
29-08-2011, 11:57am
Thanks Benny. I decided to do that and go to the local bank - or failing that, a local store with the tap-and-go facility - to try it out.
Am