RFID Wallets vs. Aluminum Foil

Shannon picked up a few goodies at Defcon, including RFID blocking cases. We test them out and show off a more economical (and flashy!) alternative for protecting your RFID enabled items.

[jp]

I recall a segment on the news that indicated carrying multiple chipped cards was a way to protect from the scanners. A single card provides just its information. Apparently when the scanner "excites" multiple chips, they would get multiple types of data responding, thereby providing jibberish.
I plan on saving the old chips from my cards and trim them so they are easy to carry.

[ijoey]

Tin foil and duct tape: the two most invaluable items in your house.

[the_realist_John_Doe]

Funny how the RFID chips are supposed to make things "more secure"... yet this whole segment was about how to safeguard your RFID chip from thieves. Kinda weird how I don't have to worry about foil or novelty wallets with my older card w/out the chip.

[billmurry]

It's definitely not more secure. For years I had the regular checking card without the chip. One month after receiving a replacement card with the chip installed, someone scanned my wallet and drained my account along with even the gift hard so had gotten a few months ago. Long story short, I was able to get my money back. But definitely not more secure. I will definitely be wrapping myself up in aluminum for foil.

[rickylee]

Crap. Didn't even test an RFID credit card.

[lohphat]

Just use a hard drive Mylar anti-static bag. $0.25

[algiersLee]

I took some sturdy scissors and cut out a dollar sized piece of metal out of a beer can (empty first!) and placed it where I place dollar bills in my wallet... it works.  
To test it I took my government chip enabled employee card and place in in the wallet, then waived it in front of a governent security door that is RFID enabled...  it shielded the card !!!

[pratiksgole]

how does it ring if the other person isn't actually receiving the call ? Here in India we get a audio clip saying other person is unreachable .

[noaidie]

$75 for an aluminum phone box . . . WTF??

[pbsing]

I used to use Lay's potato chip bags to hide my company phone, when I wanted to play hooky from work.

[MultiMegaMaxx]

That chip is NOT rfid. It's EMV (europay master card visa). It enables safe payment without using the magnetic stripe. It's used worldwide, but not so much in the US. I believe by next year its being implemented...

[happytosing]

If you have a wallet that has a billfold slot, the easiest thing you can
do is to insert a sheet of foil there. Once the wallet is closed
everything inside is protected by the foil.

[izhamsaad]

unbelievable you guys have covered this topic since 2014 :) good job Tekzilla!

[stevenvaughn]

i just put a folded piece of aluminum foil in my billfold, works great

[michellecampbell]

how do the chips prevent fraud yet they can be scanned for fraud? I never understood that.

[tobiashenderson]

The RFID chip cards was originally intended for law enforcement to have the ability to seize your asset's and to identify individuals within residential, commercial areas and vehicles without interacting! Soon you will have to have RFID access to everything from grocery stores two computers to even getting into a vehicle as well as purchasing anything whatsoever!

[danc]

They mixed up a Smart chip with the RFID. One is read by a chip reader and the other one is wireless. But then this is 6 years old.

[martinavaslovik]

Yup! I just wrapped two cards I never use in foil, and put them in the pockets on either side of my debit card. I've had 4 chipped debit cards hacked and fraudulent charges attempted on them in the last year. Fortunately my bank is very good at catching this and I was notified by text message immediately, and got the charge declined. This happened yesterday again, and I decided to do the aluminum foil thing. It's also worth considering that any company you buy from online may have insiders keeping your card information to sell to someone else down the road long after your purchase. That way you cannot know when your card was compromised.

[Slarti]

25 years ago when I worked in a shop I demonstrated to a colleague how easy it was for customers to steal goods past our security entrance - I simply wrapped the security tag in aluminium foil and walked out of the shop without triggering the alarm... and then I of course returned the items.

[appleseedfanatic]

how is an RFID card safer than one without any chips? can't scan a non RFID card