RFID Crime: A new toy for Hackers

Radio-Frequency Identification or RFID is an increasingly common technology which has a tremendous amount of legitimate potential to benefit society and business.  There are of course criminal downsides to this technology.  There are many reported causes of RFID systems being hacked by international technologically savvy criminals. This is certainly an annoyance today when RFID is in its infancy.  But what will be the social and criminal justice impact of RFID when these devices become ubiquitous?  What new crimes await us when most inatimate objects have RFID sensors?
 

Customers can swipe debit cards to pay for transactions totalling less than £15 — doing away with the need for chip and pin.

The technology — known as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) — transmits details via a radio signal, which is implanted in bank cards which carry a special symbol.

The payment method is intended to cut queuing times in shops — but fraud gangs are taking the same technology to the streets.

According to the UK Cards Association there are 19.6million cards with contactless functionality in the UK and 73,000 terminals in shops and restaurants.

An RFID reader enables thieves to read a stranger’s card simply by walking past them — and the devices cost as little as £7 online, We demonstrated how easy it is to commit the crime — known as “RFID skimming” — with a reader we bought for £200.

 

But before you cut up your RFID bank cards or lock them away in a box, The Sun can reveal a simple and cheap trick to ensure your card is never skimmed.
Tin foil blocks all RFID signals — so lining your wallet or purse with it is a sure way to keep your card details secure.

How crooks work it...

1) THEY buy similar card reader to those used in shops and walk around scanning people.

2) THEIR victims’ cards transmit data to the fraudster’s reader without them even knowing.

3) CRIMINALS can then impregnate the details on to a blank card — or shop online.

This is going to  factor that payment systems are going to have to include safegaurd mechanisms against,  not a pleasant thought , I ll invest in a metal wallet.

Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/4285837/Robbed-by-radiowave.html#ixzz2U5THNpdT

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/4285837/Robbed-by-radiowave.html

http://www.pcworld.com/article/151822/article.html