What are RFID wallets and when should you use them?
In recent years, more and more people are doing theirs purchases by credit card simply by placing the plastic on a reader. It is not necessary to slide it or insert it into a reader, or posnet, or press a keyboard to communicate the password, or the PIN. But still not everyone knows what are RFID wallets and when you should use them.
Radio Frequency Identification Technology (RFIDfor its acronym in English) performs the “miracle” and is behind the purchases known as without contact (literally, without contact).
However, there is a possibility that the data stored on the chip could be lost or fall into the wrong hands. So, it’s good to know what are RFID wallets and when you should use them.
What are RFID wallets and when should you use them?
The technology has come to credit and debit cards to stay: almost all of them already incorporate a chip that holds the basic data. Photo: Pexel.
The Radio frequency identification (RFID) was patented in 1973 by Charles Watson. Its first applications, which remain today, were related to the electronic control of articles. Unlike the barcode, or QR, the recognition is not based on an image but on a short range radio frequency (about 30 centimeters).
In 1999, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the RFID, coupled with electronic product codes, has begun to replace the barcode. The labels, or tags, RFID developed by Auto ID Lab contain a unique code (EPC) on a microchip which is transmitted to readers via an antenna.
Technology has caught up Credit and debit cards stay: almost all already incorporate a chip that contains basic data, such as number and expiration date. And, of course, the live cards wallets and bags that often remain next to cell phones. This is the first risk, because phones generate magnetic waves that can alter the circuitry of the chips and make them useless.
RFID wallets have frequency jammers. A sort of “screen” that offers greater security.
But there is a greater risk. Criminals now not only steal wallets, but data contained in card chips as well. They have devices capable of interfering with the radio frequencies on which the RFID technology.
It is true that, to achieve this, criminals must be close enough to the wallets and purses of others. Additionally, there are two pieces of information that experts say is out of their reach: the cardholder’s name and the verification code (CVV), usually three or four digits written on the front or back of the plastic.
However, in order not to take risks and avoid costly “bumping”, there are RFID blocking wallet. A sort of “screen” that offers greater security to those who own this type of card. The blockers They are made with materials that prevent the passage of radio frequency waves. Some options are PET and aluminum foil, or paper sleeves and a metal interior that prevents demagnetization.
Source: Clarin
