Update: RFID is good if it it is in the middle of the wallet as it blocks cards on the other side of the wallet so they don't disrupt the tap and go signal on subway. Just bought the Anson calder card holder cause of your channel. It's great. Also got the RFID version. In previous wallets my credit card would interfere with the tap and go and I'd have to take out the subway card. Now that doesn't occur and I just tap it without taking it out. So that's about the only use for them.
Thanks, I was about to buy an RFID wallet for myself and my wife. Upon checking my cards, I found they all had an EMV chip (no RFID). So, you saved me some bucks!
A lot of cards have both. All of mine have both the chip and an antenna. Look for the wifi logo or shine a light through the card and look for the antenna strip around the perimeter of the card.
NFC (which includes RFID) has come back. The two latest replacement cards in my wallet have wireless while the oldest one does not. This isn't necessarily as insecure as the older RFID cards, they apparently use a one time code every time you tap to pay but i haven't verified that yet. This video needs an update and to possibly be deleted because it's simply outdated.
This is wrong information. I had my CC information stolen 3 times until I got a RFID wallet and have not hed it stolen once. I will admit some are not as good as others but they work. Thank god my CC company notifed me of fause charges.
@@Trying858 you probably have a card with rfid. I’d agree I’d you do have rfid I’d get a sleeve at least, the readers can be had for a few hundred, about $300 to be precise. And thrives know they’ll make that back in one walk
Here in Brazil the situation still awkward, and the criminals/thieves steals small mounts of money placing debit/credit cards receivers next to our pockets... an RFID blocking wallet will prevent a lot of headache ♡
governments can track people’s ID with RFID, in places like subway stations near protests sites, important buildings etc, you don’t necessarily need to be participating, but you could get investigated if your name pops up, maybe less a concern in the west, but in some less free countries, it’s a real concern
From the title, I rather expected you to tell us if these wallets are really blocking the transmission of information by RFID, or not. For me, the title is misleading. Because you have limited the video to the utility of these wallets (is it necessary to block RFID signal?) rather than their ability to block RFID signal.(are these wallets able to block rfid signal, as the title claim.)
RFID issues are on subways, busy busses, etc where they have a small terminal in their pocket (the size of a phone) and brush up ageist you and charge your card. It’s still an actual issue so if you are in busy public places you should keep your cards in a RFID sleeve or wallet with it build in
Good to see somebody get a video out on the RFID mess. Still, the imagined threat is enough that even hold-out companies are forced to offer layers of RFID theft protection so they don't lose business, and that just feeds the machine. I just bought a non-RFID protected wallet (not as a statement; it just happened that way) but wonder when it too will no longer be available without.
It's a good battle to fight and quality leather shops who produce wallets aren't falling into the trap. The closest they come is to offer an RFID blocking card to put in the wallet. That's a great way to not lose customers, while keeping distance from the RFID debacle.
@@walletopia What about preventing card clash? some cards are just for travelling and you want them in the same wallet with the purchase cards but you don't want travel clashing with purchase when you tapping in
@@TheLetterK81 then use cheap thin aluminum foil and put it in your wallet on the outside. If you open up even the expensive wallets, that's all they use
@@kingjon5818 all my purchase cards are now back to old skool chip and pin so I can just buy any good branded standard wallets the only thing contactless is my travel card I got tommy hilf wallet
Although I somewhat agree I personally got scanned in France. never used my card (was in my wallet the whole time) and when I returned home (Australia) I saw my card being debited in real time from France. explain that?
Lots, all in the same direction, meaning it's not something to keep worrying about to get an RFID wallet (maybe a card, but not wallet). I have an update on this video coming up soon.
What you are saying is that, if I walk with a wireless machine and hold it close to your pocket where your wallet is, I can't take money from your card? If I can pay in a shop just holding my card near/against a machine, isn't it possible some can do the same with a portable machine to take money from you card in a crowded bus or on the subway?
No, what I'm saying is now with the chip and pin system on everyone's cards, it's nearly impossible and would require a machine worth at least $1m to decrypt the card and isn't something you could carry. When the credit card companies can shut off the card in a moments notice when fraudulent activity is detected, which is very sophisticated these days, it's not worth it. When you tap, it's an encrypted communication so nobody can sniff it. If your card is compromised it'll be due to 1) someone you give your card to writing down the information and using it, 2) you happen to run your card in a place where a skimmer is located, or 3) it's stolen via a hack on the Internet. RFID sniffing is really dead.
I was the head of fraud for BOI for 8 years. I disagree with some of what you have said. There was group of people using wireless contact POS terminals registered to a new merchant ID. They made alot of money from the metro and subways. RFID payments are well insured. I recommend the RFID blocking wallets. Some countries have different POS entry methods.
all tgis tech for conveienc has really only made more convient for others to steal and im thinking the insurace and banking cartels are behind it all they can right off as a lose theft and ecen factor it in their buisness model . If i have cash i only need to keep small bills in front of big bills so why do i want to have some card i have to protect from hacks either rfid ,rfc or some hack of a company i didnt even buy products from but somehow had my info , more tech equals more headachs but its the times we live in
I completely understand what you are saying, however, if you have an RFID card(any card), and if there is a technical working RFID scan proof wallet then it is not a scam. From your title, you are giving the impression that RFID scan proof wallets can not(technically) protect your RFID cards it is a scam, Which is maybe not, I myself do not know if they are scam or not and it is another subject to test out these wallets. Do you know what I mean.
I have a question for you, after months of harassment by security in supermarkets treating me like a thief, I finally found it to be my credit card setting the alarms off in doorways. They are the ones designed to scan for magnetic pickup used on expensive items. I could walk in, alarm goes off, walk out alarm goes off, leave my credit card at home, everything else in wallet left as is, no alarm. I just got a replacement credit card, when for a test run and sure enough the alarm went off. I walked in and out twice, didn't buy anything and left. I need something to block my card setting alarms off so would one of these wallets work for that? To say it's an absolute nightmare would be an understatement. This all started in about Nov last year.
I just got a new card hadnt had a chance to use it online used it at a pizza hut next day someone tried to use my card in houston tx. If it wasn't rfid what was it how did they get info
Were you in Houston? I’ve had new cards before and used them once, one at a gas pump and it was used somewhere else in the country. The pump was not skimmed. How? The card numbers were bulk hacked and sold. My CC company just sent me a new one.
It’s good to know that the technology has caught up to skimmers. However, RFID blocking wallets were needed until the tech caught up. I personally had my card information skimmed while in Laredo TX getting a rental in 2012. It shut down my cards and I had to get money western union’d to me so I could eat and get gas on the way to VA. That was no fun and I bought an RFID wallet right after that. Only time I had my card in for stolen after that is when I ate at Bonefish in Frederick MD in 2016 and one of the staff members stole my information
Thanks for sharing your experience Ken, it's never fun. And yes, before chips came out, skimming was a bigger problem, but like what happened to you, we're most apt to have our card info stolen from a person who we hand our card to or via an online hack than anything else. Better, but still not foolproof.
RFID and tap to pay is used in the chicago transit system meaning your contactless credit card can be used to pay for transit. If you have a pass the rate is cheaper therefore RFID or wireless blocking is still important.
Ventra still goes through the chip and pin cryptography by registering the card, or using a registered card via the Apple Pay or Google Pay system, it's not different than using your card for any other purchase.
@@walletopia it is my understanding from friends for residents of Chicago they have to shield their tab to pay credit cards in RFID sleeves so that they don't pay with their credit card and only their pass which is the lower rate. In this particular situation some kind of blocking technology is beneficial for them.
If you have a wireless entry system with your car, that's a good idea when you're home. Thieves will often drive neighborhoods with a reader for wireless keys which they can clone and then steal your vehicle. To answer your question, it might. Put it in the pouch and try and open your car. If it blocks the signal you're good to go.
@@s7a8m Either one will do well. Cheaper the better so the Vaultskin to test it out. There's no material difference between them when it comes to the RFID material used.
Yes, while chips have been in Europe for over a decade years they only finally made it to the States about 3 years ago. Contactless payment is great, I love not needing to pull my card out of my wallet every time. Prior to the chips we had contactless, but that was unencrypted RFID which was a problem, but with the chip and pin, that's not a problem. There are reported instances in the lab of using PIN bypass, but ultimately, with the artificial intelligence and heavy rules-based evaluation of transactions done by banks on the fly for transaction approval, even a once-successful spoof won't last long and ultimately all customers are protected by legislation in Europe and the States for wrongful use of their cards by others.
@@walletopia The way you are mixing up the chip&pin and contactless technologies is hilarious. A lot of words there, but it does not make any sense. You are misleading people!
@@walletopia I think the confusion here is that in Europe and especially the UK, "Chip and PIN" is what we call having to insert your card into an EFTPOS system and use a four digit PIN to authorize payment, it isn't used to refer to contactless payment.
They told me my card rfid scammed. And my bank told me to get an rfid wallet. If my card wasn't hackec by rfid.... then how? Cause i want to know what to do to protect my info.
"Scanning" with a chip and pin is useless for a criminal. Almost always you lose your card info when you hand it to someone or insert it into something, or it's stolen online. RFID lining doesn't save anyone from the top 3 ways your card information is stolen. Scanning is so small of a risk it's better to get a wallet you want and if you're still concerned get an RFID card instead of a wallet. That way you can transfer it between your wallets and still feel good about it.
so I needed to buy a new card holder for my bus pass ... everything listed had RFID blocking ... now the TAP system on the bus will not read the card thru the holder ... I have to remove the card every time .. pain in the earlobe .... LOL ... Sooooo ,my question is ..how would a disable the blocking ???
I have the phone wallet case thats for Rfid blocking 😐 I spent 30$ on it, should I get a different case?? I have my bank card in there too should I just buy a normal case?
I installed an NFC reader app on my phone. Turned off Wifi and Data and tapped my new Debit card that had NFC... my debit card number and expiration date showed up on the app. ... Then I uninstalled the app and turned wifi and data back on. Sounds pretty easy to get info to me.
Yes, but without all the information still left out you can’t use it to buy anything. And the cryptographic handshake that would happen at the terminal would be a fail.
Yes!! I couldn't agree more. But the only use I've found for the RFID blocking pockets is when I have two access control cards on either side and it prevents to some degree the reading of both cards in my office. But I've also found an easier solution of wrapping tin foil around one business card and placing it in the center pocket of a standard card holder, which works beautifully.
2021, every single one of my credit and debit card has RFID. 100% of cards. Just because they are now on a one time code, and it doesn't carry personal information, it can't stop small amounts being skimmed multiple times across multiple people. In Australia the limit per scan is limited to between $100-200 depending on the card and bank, it does add up.
Exactly. It only takes someone with a Square Reader plugged into their phone moving through a crowded train carriage. Look at all the cordless card terminals they have. Whether and RFID-blocking wallet will help with this or not is debatable, but it surely cannot hurt. What I want RFID-blocking for is so that the transport card readers pick up my transport card and not my credit or debit cards which you can also use. Imagine having the wrong card picked up by the reader and then trying to find the card from your wallet that was read by the reader for the Transit Police. That's why the Tappa exists, unfortunately it is not in the layout which I need.
I went to a food festival last year, and absolutely every stand had an rfid pay terminal. They cost like 15 bucks online and they're lightweight and portable enough to hover by your clothes when you're not paying attention. Venues like that are a digital pickpocketer's paradise. You're not gonna tell me that anyone is gonna notice a few extra transactions there. I don't think that's gonna make me go full rfid blocker wallet, but if you can get a set of signal blocking cards for less than 10 bucks, why not?
Hey, I was snooping around, studying, like, music stuff, then I just came across wallet mega Jesus. Why isn’t your channel bigger, man? 😂 You’re a real chad yo.
I have tested the chipolo stuff, they say it has a 95db noise, you put the chipolo card in the wallet and it COVERS the speaker...if the wallet is inside a backpack for example and you try to ring it fron the adjacent room YOU CAN'T EVEN HEAR IT!
I am going out of my mind with frustration over this whole RFID thing. I'm going through a divorce and moved from California across country. Before I left California two different times my credit card was compromised with charges that weren't mine. Once I got to the Midwest it is literally happening to me multiple times a day and it's making me about lose my mind. I got scammed on my credit card for over $250 in charges. And I got scammed on my bank ATM for about another $100. I have gone through and bought two different RFID protector wallets and during that whole time I had them the scamming was still going on. Any suggestions? I'm newly divorced after 32 years and I am in bad health and I don't need this stress. Does anybody have any answers to this ridiculous crime?
I imagine your financial institution replaced your card every time, right? That kind of frequency may indicate your passwords on any of the sites you've done online purchases with may have been compromised. Especially if you update your new credit card info on those sites and your account is compromised it will keep happening. Rest assured it's not your wallet being sniffed.
In my country, RFID based robbery is actually a thing, and that's because EMV and RFID are usually BOTH on the same card, so the robbers use a super strong RFID reader, and can read your card from like 5 or more inches from it, so if it's on your back pocket, you WILL NOT notice it until your phone tells you there was a purchase, so RFID protection or simply using a metal wallet is very welcome thing for my own cards
Yes, key cards emit RFID, but they can't be sniffed. They can however, be cloned, but the thief would need to physically have it. So if you lose your wallet are are pick pocketed it's possible your key card can be cloned and used.
1:21 He is some bank info stealing history, fun fact(s), A method to steal credit-card info from someone who doesn't do mobile banking, malware authors wrote in a module that allows them to use the phones RFID/NFC reader to attempt to scan the users wallet and the credit-cards inside. Also I still have yet to see a RFID reader in a store, no clue if it was still a thing...
Yes, they "work" meaning they block a signal, but the threat of someone sniffing your wallet is so low it's not worth it. Get a wallet you really want. And if you're still concerned, get an RFID card for your wallet. An RFID purposed wallet is a waste.
If I had 2 RFID enabled cards together and made a tap & go/contactless payment, can I be 100% certain which card would be charged? Is there a case for wallets with both RFID and non-RFID sections (e.g. Secrid or Ekster), to give certainty on what card would be used when? (Great channel by the way!)
There are a couple that have an exterior slot that's not RFID for tap payment while the interior slots are RFID. The ROIK wallets are good example. I wouldn't trust putting two together, I haven't tested it, but I wouldn't be surprised if it wouldn't work due to the crypto pin handshake not being able to determine which is which.
@@walletopia Thanks for the reply. Tap payments are increasingly common in UK, and a priority for me. So using RFID / non-RFID to isolate / select a specific card seems the easiest solution.
If you mean double charging people by accident, then yes. Properly configuring the the POS system to reduce the distance for a device transaction helps resolve it.
Well, they better make it safe. A well-equipped thief could simply observe you in a mall using the right kind of card and then get up on your ass at the next store to 'skim.'
"...all they would get is an address..." Can you back that up with a reliable source? I wasn't able to find any official confirmation by the government what it contains but one site (which is NOT selling RFID blocking solutions) claims this: "As of summer 2007, all new U.S. passports carry a tiny RFID chip embedded in the front cover. Each chip contains the identical personal information found on the passport’s picture page, including a digital image of your photograph." So basically if they can scan that chip, they have the information they need to make a duplicate copy of your passport.
The only information that is stored in the machine readable zone (MRZ) or on the chip of your passport, is also found on the data page of your passport; normally: name, birth date, place of birth, nationality, passport number, issue date, expiration date, issuing authority. That information is available in dozens of other places on the Internet too, so the point is, it's not very valuable information from a financial perspective so protecting it isn't that important. Passport numbers without the actual passport aren't useful for identity theft purposes.
@@walletopia True, but imagine the goldmine of geolocation information someone can grab from your passport ID from your back pocket. I can think of plenty of reasons why an RFID wallet would be helpful in protecting your identity or information in your wallet. Even your work card could be spoofed pretty easily. I've seen plenty of those DEFCON talks where people are easily able to break into buildings by spoofing employee badges straight out of their pockets. How big of a deal is any of this though? Just because someone isn't likely to do any of these exploits doesn't mean that you shouldn't at least try to protect yourself. I do agree that NFC payment cards aren't that big of a deal, considering fraud protection most banks offer. When it comes to geolocation on the other hand, plenty of other things would be able to tie one to a particular location too-- including a cellphone.
I won't disagree. There are many situations where prudence in protecting your information due to position, living location, demographic or personal preference would be concerning enough to want to protect yourself. Regarding work cards, I'm now seeing those move to a chip-based system so they too are becoming protected, especially for sensitive work environments or organizations which feel open data exposure is an intrusion risk.
@@walletopia Yeah, smart move on their part. I'd definitely prefer to get a solid wallet than one that sacrifices the quality of material to sew in an RFID-blocking layer. I'm thinking it'd be more worth it to get one of those RFID-blocker cards to put into a wallet or, better yet, just use some aluminum foil to make sleeves for cards that carry sensitive information. It's definitely true that a lot of wallets being sold are trying to capitalize on the RFID-blocking trend! Most of those wallets are pure garbage anyway, lol
If RFID is important to you just get a card, you’ll get the same support but you can get the wallet you want. If you use the “walletopia” on the Popov Leather site you can get 15% off their Gauntlet RFID card.
You know, as I have been looking around I have been disappointed because the RFID Wallets tend to be uglier models which I assume is just a way to sell their ugly models. I have yet to see (and my search has been limited) a good looking RFID Wallet. I have been looking for my forever wallet. The one I'm gonna die with, and part of the thought process was choosing an RFID wallet. This video gave me such good insight! Thank you!
Nice summary. You’re absolutely right. You are more likely to have your card compromised from a security breach of a e-commerce website database that you’ve used since these tend to be bigger, juicier targets. Another point is that many card companies have an upper limit set at default or allows the user to custom set a limit on a single rfid transaction cost. If the purchase is higher than this, a PIN code is still required. To play the devils advocate though, RFID access cards to private buildings you may have access to may make you a more viable target. These private cards can have varying levels of security and would still require the criminal to know who you are and target you individually to gain access. Something to be weary of if you work or live somewhere people want to break into but otherwise not relevant.
I live in HK where in the underground train, people literally do get packed together. The space between me and the next person is less than an inch. Any criminal with a receiving device can get close to me and other passengers. They can scan the whole train in the time it takes for the train to travel one stop. And speaking of taking risks by criminals, you know if they get caught by other passengers, all they would be found is an innocuous receiving device
Fortunately with chip and pin it's not as easy as it used to be as none of your information is in the clear. The chip and pin provides the encryption whereby the place you "tap" provides a matching token for it to be valid. Data on chip cards is constantly changing, making it extremely hard to isolate and extract by "sniffing". To clone that information, someone would have to get into the physical chip circuit and manipulate things to get your bank information. Not only is this level of data surgery really difficult, but it also requires a set of high-tech equipment that can cost north of $1 million. Unless you have an interface to the various encryption algorithms you won't be able to sniff the card information. RFID is really, really, dead for credit card fraud. Nobody is going to go to that effort for a card that will be turned off after a matter of a few uses if it's stolen. The AI algorithms in use to detect fraudulent card usage is incredible if someone were to get your number. That's why dark web purchasing of card information or hacking sites who store your information is where it happens. The days of sniffing card information from people is long gone.
If you're worried about someone cloning your card via RFID don't. Feel relieved in the fact that most criminals will still just skim the magnetic strip or just write the info down if they take it to process the payment elsewhere.
Exactly, skimming via some electronic means is the least, and as has been reported in several interviews recently, never been seen in practice. I truly is a marketing scam. Most wallet makers I talk with would prefer to not create RFID enabled wallets, but their customers demand it.
They can collect the cc number information by wireless, but yes they cannot use it easily for a purchase by a wireless system. They can use the number and place it on a mag strip for an old style purchase. So yes the rfid system did not allow a payment but it was a cause of a cc number leak.
Actually, with a chip and pin card, even if they transfer what they find from the stripe to a cloned magstripe card, when used for a purchase, the bank will try and verify the CVC on the pin side against the CVC on the stripe. They're both different and only the bank can verify it. Since it only has one number, the transaction would fail. The hole in this scheme is that there are still approximately 10% of banks who aren't yet validating the two numbers at which point it would work.
In my country, criminals get their phone near your wallet inside your pocket and scan your credit cards. RFID protection is important. I got a card I never used cloned, it was in a slot that did not have RFID protection in my wallet.
If your card does not have a chip on it, that's possible, but I've had chip cards, I had yet to use once (had one for 3 days), stolen online and used half-way across the country. There's a closer than 100% chance your card was stolen online than from your pocket if it's a chip and pin. And still high if it's not.
There are no apps that can steal your credit card information when you have a chip on your card or from mobile tap. Fortunately with chip and pin it's not as easy as it used to be as none of your information is in the clear. The chip and pin provides the encryption whereby the place you "tap" provides a matching token for it to be valid. Data on chip cards is constantly changing, making it extremely hard to isolate and extract by "sniffing". To clone that information, someone would have to get into the physical chip circuit and manipulate things to get your bank information. Not only is this level of data surgery really difficult, but it also requires a set of high-tech equipment that can cost north of $1 million. Unless you have an interface to the various encryption algorithms you won't be able to sniff the card information. RFID is really, really, dead for credit card fraud. Nobody is going to go to that effort for a card that will be turned off after a matter of a few uses if it's stolen. The AI algorithms in use to detect fraudulent card usage is incredible if someone were to get your number. That's why dark web purchasing of card information or hacking sites who store your information is where it happens. The days of sniffing card information from people is long gone.
Well i dont know if it was RFID or not but my card was cloned and my bank account was emptied not too long ago so now i am more protective of my card and info. So im getting the Dango M1 spec ops wallet but not only because it protects my cards but also because is an awesome product as i have seen the review video you posted, thank you for the great reviews keep up the excellent work!!!
My guess it was likely a skimmer at a gas pump or at a restaurant, or really anywhere you insert or give away your card to someone. At that point, they can clone it with a swipe no problem. An unfortunate event that sucks our time.
To be honest they are a pain, as I have a contactless card (Oyster card) for London tube travel I need to remove from wallet as RFID blocks signal in doing so I could easily pull out another card or drop it or someone could snatch it from me, where before just needed to have card in wallet and tap near reader and it would pick up. Frankly I do not use my credit card just have everything on my iphone and just use that to pay
this is mostly true if you live in the us, in the UK and likely the rest of Europe contactless payments are unanimous and have been for years, it's more likely that someone has an RFID card than not
Yes and outside the US, stripe's are gone, so the chip/pin addresses any sniffing or cloning. RFID is good in a chip/pin environment. It's when skimmers are used that there's no protection, even an RFID card. I've got an updated video coming on this.
This really helped me out. I just had my card number stolen and was looking for an RFID blocking wallet as a precaution to make sure it didn't happen again. Glad I watched this before making a purchase as the card was not even a wireless card to begin with lol.
What about remote key fobs for expensive automobiles? I know certain materials can be used to create a faraday cage for your key fob so they cannot be hacked by would be car thieves.
Yes, when not using your car, you should pop it into a RFID blocking pouch. It does act as a faraday to prevent keys from being cloned and your car stolen. Especially if your car is parked outside a garage, you should do that.
Thanks for all the information. I did not know about the electronics involved for RFID is on the card and that data could possibly picked up by hackers to steal your data. There is no harm in buying some inexpensive protective wallet or card that blocks possible hackers - plus they can carry the rest of the identity cards we have. Why is this such a big deal to say this is a SCAM. Note: I did find out my card does have RFID. Take care.
Hi, Mark -- I'm a new subscriber as of one minute ago. You saved me from purchasing a Ridge wallet, and now I'm leaning towards an XSTO. I really appreciate your content and your efforts. Thank you for what you do!
Okay, you're making a big thing of distinguishing this unencrypted outdated RFID technology that could be used to clone cards, and modern NFC technology which is more secure. But NFC is just an extension of RFID-they use the same underlying data transfer principles, so if a wallet is RFID blocking, this means it's NFC blocking too! And while a modern NFC-enabled card can't be contactlessly cloned, it can still be charged a one-off payment! I don't know about elsewhere, but the limit for a contactless payment in the UK is £100. Oh and pretty much all cards in the UK are NFC-enabled, so it certainly _would_ make sense for a thief to scan random pockets and wallets-no specialist equipment would be required, just a standard contactless pay terminal (which can be quite small now).
Yes on all you said except for the cryptographic key between the card/phone and the terminal. You can't clone that which prevents the transaction from being performed when the terminal contacts the bank. The exception for that are banks (around 9% of them) who still don't require the iCVC to validate the transaction, at which point the clone could be successful.
They work, assuming the threat is real, which has been proven to be so low it begs the question why limit yourself to just RFID wallets. My point, also made on my follow up video is, if you’re worried about it, get an RFID blocking card or sleeve and get any wallet you want.
We use emv chip on credit cards and atm cards now in the Philippines. The transition happened like two or three years ago, I think. And we use RFID for expressways. So when my cousin living in Canada has given me a hardcase for storing cards and told me it’s to keep my information from getting stolen, I was rather confused. I’ve never heard of people in my country getting their info stolen via RFID. I think it’s more likely for us to have our atm or credit card info stolen from cloning devices or from actual thieves, than by RFID. 🤷♀️
If you have more than one RFID card in your wallet, which is more and more prevalent each day, doesn’t that confuse skimmers because they can’t tell the multiple cards apart and appears as garbage data?
I do think RFID protection has a valid place, and that is avoiding card clash. I have a wallet which is RFID protected, except for one slot which I put my oyster card in, which avoids card clash and charging the wrong card (which has happened to me before). This is a valid use of RFID protection, but I do agree in terms of fraud it serves no purpose.
@@walletopia thanks! I love your channel and videos. If you wanted to see an example of what I mentioned above, I have the Nodus hifold wallet and I bought it pretty much because of the solo tap slot, a feature I've not seen on your channel on any wallets yet! Living in London means public transport very regularly and not having to remove an oyster card from a wallet to tap is a must really.
I went to buy a new wallet at Ross and every single one of them were RFID blocking so it's not like I had anything to worry about or much of a choice lol
They are back again- I just got one on Monday! I know a bunch of others in my company have chase and citicorp ones they got this past year. I just checked and see two of my other cards have that wave on it. Should any of us be at all concerned?
They never truly left, but came back more secure when chip and pin arrived (finally for the United States). With chip and pin you're good to go. It was when we didn't have any crypto on the card communication with the reader we had problems. And then generally, it's nearly impossible to sniff credit cards anymore.
Unencrypted RFID is still used at many corporations that haven't updated their door systems. But RFID blocking wallets are not the solution. The corporations need to update their systems.
Not sure how this would apply in the Netherlands where everyone uses debit cards instead of credit cards. Nearly all debit cards here have wireless paying implemented by default. Not sure if that's RFID or anything else. Anyway, it only works when the card is super close to the payment terminal, like 5cm or less. A wireless paying terminal is super cheap to buy so theoretically, they could gain multiple payments of up to €25 per card if they bump into you with the payment terminal in their pocket (as that was the limit per payment before they increased that with the COVID pandemic so people could pay higher amounts without having to touch terminals). They need to bump into you with the terminal pretty much touching where you have your card though.
5 cm sounds like RFID. But if you have Interac Flash (which it should say on your card) those are EMV so they don't use RFID. EMV means it practically needs to be touching the terminal to work. or just hovering under 1 cm away.
actually its not that complicated. You would need to know the store owner or be sneaky about it - but you can easily set up a scanner very close to the reader without anyone knowing. It will just grab cards all day long. no one needs to be there. Just like the ones they use on ATM's to grab your mag strip information.
True, but if your card has a chip and pin, if you clone it and try to use it in a card present purchase, the request compares the CVC with the iCVC on the chip. If they don't match, it will fail the purchase.
@@walletopia Has it crossed your mind that there are other countries on other continents where public transportation is crowded, where buses and metro are packed like tin of sardines? Believe me rfid dump download in those places happen.
Sure anything is possible. But remember I’m talking about not needing and RFID blocking wallet. Which due to the availability of blocking cards and sleeves, if you’re still concerned, can use. But there’s really no need to settle for an RFID wallet which are generally cheaply made.
Thank you! Love your good reviews and everything you guys are up to. And thank you for clarifying this. I hope many people watches this video in particular!
Update: RFID is good if it it is in the middle of the wallet as it blocks cards on the other side of the wallet so they don't disrupt the tap and go signal on subway. Just bought the Anson calder card holder cause of your channel. It's great. Also got the RFID version. In previous wallets my credit card would interfere with the tap and go and I'd have to take out the subway card. Now that doesn't occur and I just tap it without taking it out.
So that's about the only use for them.
Excellent use case, thanks David!
clever
Thanks, I was about to buy an RFID wallet for myself and my wife. Upon checking my cards, I found they all had an EMV chip (no RFID). So, you saved me some bucks!
Glad I could help
A lot of cards have both. All of mine have both the chip and an antenna. Look for the wifi logo or shine a light through the card and look for the antenna strip around the perimeter of the card.
NFC (which includes RFID) has come back. The two latest replacement cards in my wallet have wireless while the oldest one does not. This isn't necessarily as insecure as the older RFID cards, they apparently use a one time code every time you tap to pay but i haven't verified that yet. This video needs an update and to possibly be deleted because it's simply outdated.
This is wrong information. I had my CC information stolen 3 times until I got a RFID wallet and have not hed it stolen once. I will admit some are not as good as others but they work. Thank god my CC company notifed me of fause charges.
@@Trying858 you probably have a card with rfid. I’d agree I’d you do have rfid I’d get a sleeve at least, the readers can be had for a few hundred, about $300 to be precise. And thrives know they’ll make that back in one walk
Here in Brazil the situation still awkward, and the criminals/thieves steals small mounts of money placing debit/credit cards receivers next to our pockets... an RFID blocking wallet will prevent a lot of headache ♡
People acting out of fear instead of facts.
@@sebs30v Hoping that thieves will NOT steel from you, we hear ya :P
governments can track people’s ID with RFID, in places like subway stations near protests sites, important buildings etc, you don’t necessarily need to be participating, but you could get investigated if your name pops up, maybe less a concern in the west, but in some less free countries, it’s a real concern
Good point, and we find that with store credit cards, they use their cards and apps to track when you enter or leave their stores
I am still going keep my cards under my tin foil hat, just in case 😉
that wold actually work...
That would make radio singles stronger.
Lol 😉😅
Good Idea!!!♡
@@FrankOfSerendipity turn it into a satellite dish 🤣
Video title should be “RFID BLOCKING is a scam”...
Done!
@@walletopia wow you actually did it! I am not used to this!!!
@@cardless5777 When it's right it's right, no ego here. :)
From the title, I rather expected you to tell us if these wallets are really blocking the transmission of information by RFID, or not.
For me, the title is misleading. Because you have limited the video to the utility of these wallets (is it necessary to block RFID signal?) rather than their ability to block RFID signal.(are these wallets able to block rfid signal, as the title claim.)
@@marcusjackson5837 Likely due to their military ID and/or access cards.
This just saved me $15
me 2
Just saved me $130
You can get them for $10 bucks at Walmart. I needed a new wallet and didn’t even know they made rifd protection but they were cheap
i mean you can still get stolen like 100$ from your card with a mobile scanner for 30 $ and an app for their smartphone.(at leat in Germany)
@@yoshilikestrains You are absolutely right there!
RFID issues are on subways, busy busses, etc where they have a small terminal in their pocket (the size of a phone) and brush up ageist you and charge your card. It’s still an actual issue so if you are in busy public places you should keep your cards in a RFID sleeve or wallet with it build in
Ecmv does not work that way
Good to see somebody get a video out on the RFID mess. Still, the imagined threat is enough that even hold-out companies are forced to offer layers of RFID theft protection so they don't lose business, and that just feeds the machine. I just bought a non-RFID protected wallet (not as a statement; it just happened that way) but wonder when it too will no longer be available without.
It's a good battle to fight and quality leather shops who produce wallets aren't falling into the trap. The closest they come is to offer an RFID blocking card to put in the wallet. That's a great way to not lose customers, while keeping distance from the RFID debacle.
@@walletopia What about preventing card clash? some cards are just for travelling and you want them in the same wallet with the purchase cards but you don't want travel clashing with purchase when you tapping in
@@TheLetterK81 then use cheap thin aluminum foil and put it in your wallet on the outside.
If you open up even the expensive wallets, that's all they use
@@kingjon5818 all my purchase cards are now back to old skool chip and pin so I can just buy any good branded standard wallets the only thing contactless is my travel card I got tommy hilf wallet
Yeahh. I literally just farted and lost all my data 0:23
Aluminum foil is a cheap conversion for any wallet just in case but good to know it’s mostly not needed.
Although I somewhat agree I personally got scanned in France. never used my card (was in my wallet the whole time) and when I returned home (Australia) I saw my card being debited in real time from France. explain that?
Do you know at what type of location? Was it Internet based or in-present transaction? Also, was your card a chip and pin?
@@walletopia I was begging charged for several things such as taxi, shops etc… we have pay wave + chip here in AU
Very helpful video thank you
It has been two years since this video. Has there been any changes to be concerned about either in the states or other countries?
Lots, all in the same direction, meaning it's not something to keep worrying about to get an RFID wallet (maybe a card, but not wallet). I have an update on this video coming up soon.
What you are saying is that, if I walk with a wireless machine and hold it close to your pocket where your wallet is, I can't take money from your card? If I can pay in a shop just holding my card near/against a machine, isn't it possible some can do the same with a portable machine to take money from you card in a crowded bus or on the subway?
No, what I'm saying is now with the chip and pin system on everyone's cards, it's nearly impossible and would require a machine worth at least $1m to decrypt the card and isn't something you could carry. When the credit card companies can shut off the card in a moments notice when fraudulent activity is detected, which is very sophisticated these days, it's not worth it. When you tap, it's an encrypted communication so nobody can sniff it. If your card is compromised it'll be due to 1) someone you give your card to writing down the information and using it, 2) you happen to run your card in a place where a skimmer is located, or 3) it's stolen via a hack on the Internet. RFID sniffing is really dead.
Should I have one if the personal ID card have RFID chips and want to block them from "smart lamppost" in Hong Kong ?
As a wallet? No I would still say no as you can get an RFID card which you can use in all your wallets.
With numerous tourists on the street these days.. thieves need no longer stand on the street for far too long 😂
I was the head of fraud for BOI for 8 years. I disagree with some of what you have said. There was group of people using wireless contact POS terminals registered to a new merchant ID. They made alot of money from the metro and subways. RFID payments are well insured. I recommend the RFID blocking wallets. Some countries have different POS entry methods.
Will wrapping your card in tin foil help?
@@inspiredthanksforsharing3766 yes
Do you also happen to also work for company like ridge wallets?
all tgis tech for conveienc has really only made more convient for others to steal and im thinking the insurace and banking cartels are behind it all they can right off as a lose theft and ecen factor it in their buisness model . If i have cash i only need to keep small bills in front of big bills so why do i want to have some card i have to protect from hacks either rfid ,rfc or some hack of a company i didnt even buy products from but somehow had my info , more tech equals more headachs but its the times we live in
Could you prove it? Your claim does not mirror reality and i think you made this claim up
I completely understand what you are saying, however, if you have an RFID card(any card), and if there is a technical working RFID scan proof wallet then it is not a scam. From your title, you are giving the impression that RFID scan proof wallets can not(technically) protect your RFID cards it is a scam, Which is maybe not, I myself do not know if they are scam or not and it is another subject to test out these wallets. Do you know what I mean.
Oh yes, I can see that interpretation.
I have a question for you, after months of harassment by security in supermarkets treating me like a thief, I finally found it to be my credit card setting the alarms off in doorways. They are the ones designed to scan for magnetic pickup used on expensive items. I could walk in, alarm goes off, walk out alarm goes off, leave my credit card at home, everything else in wallet left as is, no alarm. I just got a replacement credit card, when for a test run and sure enough the alarm went off. I walked in and out twice, didn't buy anything and left. I need something to block my card setting alarms off so would one of these wallets work for that? To say it's an absolute nightmare would be an understatement. This all started in about Nov last year.
I would get a blocking sleeve for your card, that'll take care of it without needing a new wallet.
@@walletopia Cool, sounds like a plan, thanks.
I just got a new card hadnt had a chance to use it online used it at a pizza hut next day someone tried to use my card in houston tx. If it wasn't rfid what was it how did they get info
Were you in Houston? I’ve had new cards before and used them once, one at a gas pump and it was used somewhere else in the country. The pump was not skimmed. How? The card numbers were bulk hacked and sold. My CC company just sent me a new one.
It’s good to know that the technology has caught up to skimmers. However, RFID blocking wallets were needed until the tech caught up. I personally had my card information skimmed while in Laredo TX getting a rental in 2012. It shut down my cards and I had to get money western union’d to me so I could eat and get gas on the way to VA. That was no fun and I bought an RFID wallet right after that. Only time I had my card in for stolen after that is when I ate at Bonefish in Frederick MD in 2016 and one of the staff members stole my information
Thanks for sharing your experience Ken, it's never fun. And yes, before chips came out, skimming was a bigger problem, but like what happened to you, we're most apt to have our card info stolen from a person who we hand our card to or via an online hack than anything else. Better, but still not foolproof.
RFID and tap to pay is used in the chicago transit system meaning your contactless credit card can be used to pay for transit. If you have a pass the rate is cheaper therefore RFID or wireless blocking is still important.
Ventra still goes through the chip and pin cryptography by registering the card, or using a registered card via the Apple Pay or Google Pay system, it's not different than using your card for any other purchase.
@@walletopia it is my understanding from friends for residents of Chicago they have to shield their tab to pay credit cards in RFID sleeves so that they don't pay with their credit card and only their pass which is the lower rate. In this particular situation some kind of blocking technology is beneficial for them.
@@nerp27 Makes sense, I'd agree. I wonder how an RFID blocking card would do instead of buying a full RFID wallet?
If i put my car keys in a RFID zip wallet, will RFID act as a Faraday pouch?
If you have a wireless entry system with your car, that's a good idea when you're home. Thieves will often drive neighborhoods with a reader for wireless keys which they can clone and then steal your vehicle. To answer your question, it might. Put it in the pouch and try and open your car. If it blocks the signal you're good to go.
Thanks @@walletopia! I will try that. What do you recommend for this experiment, Belroy Folio Mini or Vaultskin Notting Hill?
@@s7a8m Either one will do well. Cheaper the better so the Vaultskin to test it out. There's no material difference between them when it comes to the RFID material used.
Are the metallic chips new in the states? They have been used where I live for years but we’re all encouraged to switch to contactless cause of Covid
Yes, while chips have been in Europe for over a decade years they only finally made it to the States about 3 years ago. Contactless payment is great, I love not needing to pull my card out of my wallet every time. Prior to the chips we had contactless, but that was unencrypted RFID which was a problem, but with the chip and pin, that's not a problem. There are reported instances in the lab of using PIN bypass, but ultimately, with the artificial intelligence and heavy rules-based evaluation of transactions done by banks on the fly for transaction approval, even a once-successful spoof won't last long and ultimately all customers are protected by legislation in Europe and the States for wrongful use of their cards by others.
@@walletopia The way you are mixing up the chip&pin and contactless technologies is hilarious. A lot of words there, but it does not make any sense. You are misleading people!
@@thefreedomguyuk You obviously don't understand what's happening. I will defer you to this document for clarity, bit.ly/3oQ2rps
@@walletopia I think the confusion here is that in Europe and especially the UK, "Chip and PIN" is what we call having to insert your card into an EFTPOS system and use a four digit PIN to authorize payment, it isn't used to refer to contactless payment.
@@Tearlach Yep, that makes total sense.
They told me my card rfid scammed. And my bank told me to get an rfid wallet. If my card wasn't hackec by rfid.... then how? Cause i want to know what to do to protect my info.
"Scanning" with a chip and pin is useless for a criminal. Almost always you lose your card info when you hand it to someone or insert it into something, or it's stolen online. RFID lining doesn't save anyone from the top 3 ways your card information is stolen. Scanning is so small of a risk it's better to get a wallet you want and if you're still concerned get an RFID card instead of a wallet. That way you can transfer it between your wallets and still feel good about it.
so I needed to buy a new card holder for my bus pass ... everything listed had RFID blocking ... now the TAP system on the bus will not read the card thru the holder ... I have to remove the card every time .. pain in the earlobe .... LOL ... Sooooo ,my question is ..how would a disable the blocking ???
I have the phone wallet case thats for Rfid blocking 😐 I spent 30$ on it, should I get a different case?? I have my bank card in there too should I just buy a normal case?
For a phone wallet case I wouldn’t worry. It’s a bigger deal when you drop $100 or more on a leather wallet and it has RFID material in it.
@@walletopia done , Just switched to a Good phone case 😃
I installed an NFC reader app on my phone. Turned off Wifi and Data and tapped my new Debit card that had NFC... my debit card number and expiration date showed up on the app. ... Then I uninstalled the app and turned wifi and data back on. Sounds pretty easy to get info to me.
Yes, but without all the information still left out you can’t use it to buy anything. And the cryptographic handshake that would happen at the terminal would be a fail.
@@walletopia Can it be used to make a stripe card or to run a credit card transaction online?
Yes!! I couldn't agree more. But the only use I've found for the RFID blocking pockets is when I have two access control cards on either side and it prevents to some degree the reading of both cards in my office. But I've also found an easier solution of wrapping tin foil around one business card and placing it in the center pocket of a standard card holder, which works beautifully.
Interesting use case, didn't think of that before and I love the solution!
2021, every single one of my credit and debit card has RFID. 100% of cards. Just because they are now on a one time code, and it doesn't carry personal information, it can't stop small amounts being skimmed multiple times across multiple people. In Australia the limit per scan is limited to between $100-200 depending on the card and bank, it does add up.
Exactly. It only takes someone with a Square Reader plugged into their phone moving through a crowded train carriage. Look at all the cordless card terminals they have. Whether and RFID-blocking wallet will help with this or not is debatable, but it surely cannot hurt.
What I want RFID-blocking for is so that the transport card readers pick up my transport card and not my credit or debit cards which you can also use. Imagine having the wrong card picked up by the reader and then trying to find the card from your wallet that was read by the reader for the Transit Police. That's why the Tappa exists, unfortunately it is not in the layout which I need.
I went to a food festival last year, and absolutely every stand had an rfid pay terminal. They cost like 15 bucks online and they're lightweight and portable enough to hover by your clothes when you're not paying attention. Venues like that are a digital pickpocketer's paradise. You're not gonna tell me that anyone is gonna notice a few extra transactions there.
I don't think that's gonna make me go full rfid blocker wallet, but if you can get a set of signal blocking cards for less than 10 bucks, why not?
Hey, I was snooping around, studying, like, music stuff, then I just came across wallet mega Jesus. Why isn’t your channel bigger, man? 😂 You’re a real chad yo.
What are some good slim wallets that aren't rfid
I have tested the chipolo stuff, they say it has a 95db noise, you put the chipolo card in the wallet and it COVERS the speaker...if the wallet is inside a backpack for example and you try to ring it fron the adjacent room YOU CAN'T EVEN HEAR IT!
Appreciate the heads up, Thanks
I am going out of my mind with frustration over this whole RFID thing. I'm going through a divorce and moved from California across country. Before I left California two different times my credit card was compromised with charges that weren't mine. Once I got to the Midwest it is literally happening to me multiple times a day and it's making me about lose my mind. I got scammed on my credit card for over $250 in charges. And I got scammed on my bank ATM for about another $100. I have gone through and bought two different RFID protector wallets and during that whole time I had them the scamming was still going on. Any suggestions? I'm newly divorced after 32 years and I am in bad health and I don't need this stress. Does anybody have any answers to this ridiculous crime?
I imagine your financial institution replaced your card every time, right? That kind of frequency may indicate your passwords on any of the sites you've done online purchases with may have been compromised. Especially if you update your new credit card info on those sites and your account is compromised it will keep happening. Rest assured it's not your wallet being sniffed.
In my country, RFID based robbery is actually a thing, and that's because EMV and RFID are usually BOTH on the same card, so the robbers use a super strong RFID reader, and can read your card from like 5 or more inches from it, so if it's on your back pocket, you WILL NOT notice it until your phone tells you there was a purchase, so RFID protection or simply using a metal wallet is very welcome thing for my own cards
Well those banks.
This didn’t age very well
That’s why I made an updated video. Link in the description.
What kind of wallet do you carry?
What about keycard(I'm not sure am I using the right word the one that use to access building or unlocking door) that's still rfid right?
Yes, key cards emit RFID, but they can't be sniffed. They can however, be cloned, but the thief would need to physically have it. So if you lose your wallet are are pick pocketed it's possible your key card can be cloned and used.
1:21 He is some bank info stealing history, fun fact(s), A method to steal credit-card info from someone who doesn't do mobile banking, malware authors wrote in a module that allows them to use the phones RFID/NFC reader to attempt to scan the users wallet and the credit-cards inside. Also I still have yet to see a RFID reader in a store, no clue if it was still a thing...
Thank you.😊
thank you Walletopia for the great information.....i will pass along to my family...Cheers!!
2/3 of all debit card payments here in the UK are contactless..
Correct, RFID is good, RFID wallets are not necessary.
@@walletopia yeah, totally agree. My comment was more about the statement that contactless is not popular :)
@@adhominem_ my mistake then, it’s VERY popular and a great thing. Thanks!
Thank you sir, clear cut explanation, a relief.
Excellent video I learned a lot thank you very much. I have cancelled an order and I saved few Euros 💶
Clear and concise. Deeply appreciate the info. Keep safe !
I like your shirt, where to buy?
This dude isn’t fully correct rfid wallets work!
Yes, they "work" meaning they block a signal, but the threat of someone sniffing your wallet is so low it's not worth it. Get a wallet you really want. And if you're still concerned, get an RFID card for your wallet. An RFID purposed wallet is a waste.
If I had 2 RFID enabled cards together and made a tap & go/contactless payment, can I be 100% certain which card would be charged?
Is there a case for wallets with both RFID and non-RFID sections (e.g. Secrid or Ekster), to give certainty on what card would be used when?
(Great channel by the way!)
There are a couple that have an exterior slot that's not RFID for tap payment while the interior slots are RFID. The ROIK wallets are good example. I wouldn't trust putting two together, I haven't tested it, but I wouldn't be surprised if it wouldn't work due to the crypto pin handshake not being able to determine which is which.
@@walletopia Thanks for the reply. Tap payments are increasingly common in UK, and a priority for me. So using RFID / non-RFID to isolate / select a specific card seems the easiest solution.
Agreed, I love tap payment which is why I complain often when a wallet doesn’t have an external card slot for organization.
Thanks for the great information!
Card scanners in retail stores are the threat, not criminals on street corners.
If you mean double charging people by accident, then yes. Properly configuring the the POS system to reduce the distance for a device transaction helps resolve it.
Well, they better make it safe. A well-equipped thief could simply observe you in a mall using the right kind of card and then get up on your ass at the next store to 'skim.'
Thank you very much for this content. That's helpful.
Thanks for making this informative and helpful video
"...all they would get is an address..." Can you back that up with a reliable source? I wasn't able to find any official confirmation by the government what it contains but one site (which is NOT selling RFID blocking solutions) claims this: "As of summer 2007, all new U.S. passports carry a tiny RFID chip embedded in the front cover. Each chip contains the identical personal information found on the passport’s picture page, including a digital image of your photograph." So basically if they can scan that chip, they have the information they need to make a duplicate copy of your passport.
My Passport card has RFID built in, so no, having an RFID-Proof wallet isn't a complete scam.
The only information that is stored in the machine readable zone (MRZ) or on the chip of your passport, is also found on the data page of your passport; normally: name, birth date, place of birth, nationality, passport number, issue date, expiration date, issuing authority. That information is available in dozens of other places on the Internet too, so the point is, it's not very valuable information from a financial perspective so protecting it isn't that important. Passport numbers without the actual passport aren't useful for identity theft purposes.
@@walletopia True, but imagine the goldmine of geolocation information someone can grab from your passport ID from your back pocket. I can think of plenty of reasons why an RFID wallet would be helpful in protecting your identity or information in your wallet. Even your work card could be spoofed pretty easily. I've seen plenty of those DEFCON talks where people are easily able to break into buildings by spoofing employee badges straight out of their pockets.
How big of a deal is any of this though? Just because someone isn't likely to do any of these exploits doesn't mean that you shouldn't at least try to protect yourself. I do agree that NFC payment cards aren't that big of a deal, considering fraud protection most banks offer. When it comes to geolocation on the other hand, plenty of other things would be able to tie one to a particular location too-- including a cellphone.
I won't disagree. There are many situations where prudence in protecting your information due to position, living location, demographic or personal preference would be concerning enough to want to protect yourself. Regarding work cards, I'm now seeing those move to a chip-based system so they too are becoming protected, especially for sensitive work environments or organizations which feel open data exposure is an intrusion risk.
@@walletopia Yeah, smart move on their part. I'd definitely prefer to get a solid wallet than one that sacrifices the quality of material to sew in an RFID-blocking layer. I'm thinking it'd be more worth it to get one of those RFID-blocker cards to put into a wallet or, better yet, just use some aluminum foil to make sleeves for cards that carry sensitive information.
It's definitely true that a lot of wallets being sold are trying to capitalize on the RFID-blocking trend! Most of those wallets are pure garbage anyway, lol
If RFID is important to you just get a card, you’ll get the same support but you can get the wallet you want. If you use the “walletopia” on the Popov Leather site you can get 15% off their Gauntlet RFID card.
You know, as I have been looking around I have been disappointed because the RFID Wallets tend to be uglier models which I assume is just a way to sell their ugly models. I have yet to see (and my search has been limited) a good looking RFID Wallet. I have been looking for my forever wallet. The one I'm gonna die with, and part of the thought process was choosing an RFID wallet. This video gave me such good insight! Thank you!
Nice summary. You’re absolutely right. You are more likely to have your card compromised from a security breach of a e-commerce website database that you’ve used since these tend to be bigger, juicier targets. Another point is that many card companies have an upper limit set at default or allows the user to custom set a limit on a single rfid transaction cost. If the purchase is higher than this, a PIN code is still required.
To play the devils advocate though, RFID access cards to private buildings you may have access to may make you a more viable target. These private cards can have varying levels of security and would still require the criminal to know who you are and target you individually to gain access. Something to be weary of if you work or live somewhere people want to break into but otherwise not relevant.
Fair enough, if someone is targeting you as a person or want access to where you go, that would be a way to do it.
I live in HK where in the underground train, people literally do get packed together. The space between me and the next person is less than an inch. Any criminal with a receiving device can get close to me and other passengers. They can scan the whole train in the time it takes for the train to travel one stop. And speaking of taking risks by criminals, you know if they get caught by other passengers, all they would be found is an innocuous receiving device
Fortunately with chip and pin it's not as easy as it used to be as none of your information is in the clear. The chip and pin provides the encryption whereby the place you "tap" provides a matching token for it to be valid. Data on chip cards is constantly changing, making it extremely hard to isolate and extract by "sniffing". To clone that information, someone would have to get into the physical chip circuit and manipulate things to get your bank information. Not only is this level of data surgery really difficult, but it also requires a set of high-tech equipment that can cost north of $1 million. Unless you have an interface to the various encryption algorithms you won't be able to sniff the card information. RFID is really, really, dead for credit card fraud. Nobody is going to go to that effort for a card that will be turned off after a matter of a few uses if it's stolen. The AI algorithms in use to detect fraudulent card usage is incredible if someone were to get your number. That's why dark web purchasing of card information or hacking sites who store your information is where it happens. The days of sniffing card information from people is long gone.
If you're worried about someone cloning your card via RFID don't. Feel relieved in the fact that most criminals will still just skim the magnetic strip or just write the info down if they take it to process the payment elsewhere.
Exactly, skimming via some electronic means is the least, and as has been reported in several interviews recently, never been seen in practice. I truly is a marketing scam. Most wallet makers I talk with would prefer to not create RFID enabled wallets, but their customers demand it.
They can collect the cc number information by wireless, but yes they cannot use it easily for a purchase by a wireless system. They can use the number and place it on a mag strip for an old style purchase. So yes the rfid system did not allow a payment but it was a cause of a cc number leak.
Actually, with a chip and pin card, even if they transfer what they find from the stripe to a cloned magstripe card, when used for a purchase, the bank will try and verify the CVC on the pin side against the CVC on the stripe. They're both different and only the bank can verify it. Since it only has one number, the transaction would fail. The hole in this scheme is that there are still approximately 10% of banks who aren't yet validating the two numbers at which point it would work.
In my country, criminals get their phone near your wallet inside your pocket and scan your credit cards. RFID protection is important. I got a card I never used cloned, it was in a slot that did not have RFID protection in my wallet.
If your card does not have a chip on it, that's possible, but I've had chip cards, I had yet to use once (had one for 3 days), stolen online and used half-way across the country. There's a closer than 100% chance your card was stolen online than from your pocket if it's a chip and pin. And still high if it's not.
There are apps to download to steal RFID info. You said they just need to be a few feet away...ever stood in line with strangers?
There are no apps that can steal your credit card information when you have a chip on your card or from mobile tap. Fortunately with chip and pin it's not as easy as it used to be as none of your information is in the clear. The chip and pin provides the encryption whereby the place you "tap" provides a matching token for it to be valid. Data on chip cards is constantly changing, making it extremely hard to isolate and extract by "sniffing". To clone that information, someone would have to get into the physical chip circuit and manipulate things to get your bank information. Not only is this level of data surgery really difficult, but it also requires a set of high-tech equipment that can cost north of $1 million. Unless you have an interface to the various encryption algorithms you won't be able to sniff the card information. RFID is really, really, dead for credit card fraud. Nobody is going to go to that effort for a card that will be turned off after a matter of a few uses if it's stolen. The AI algorithms in use to detect fraudulent card usage is incredible if someone were to get your number. That's why dark web purchasing of card information or hacking sites who store your information is where it happens. The days of sniffing card information from people is long gone.
@@walletopia Ignorance is bliss. You really ought to know your enemy better.
@@thefreedomguyuk I've been in the cryptography community for 20 years, you'll need to demonstrate you know more than just saying I don't.
Sad but you haven't been to Atlanta. They'll act like they are in line and scan your pocket
I was wondering about this. Thx
Well i dont know if it was RFID or not but my card was cloned and my bank account was emptied not too long ago so now i am more protective of my card and info. So im getting the Dango M1 spec ops wallet but not only because it protects my cards but also because is an awesome product as i have seen the review video you posted, thank you for the great reviews keep up the excellent work!!!
My guess it was likely a skimmer at a gas pump or at a restaurant, or really anywhere you insert or give away your card to someone. At that point, they can clone it with a swipe no problem. An unfortunate event that sucks our time.
@@walletopia i have changed debit card and credit card information 3 times because credit card cloneing and fraud is getting bad here in Austin Tx.
Now this had me totally change my mind about getting a minimalist wallet.
Thank You for Your reference ant time filming. May I ask at this point about Keyless go for cars? Thank You.
To be honest they are a pain, as I have a contactless card (Oyster card) for London tube travel I need to remove from wallet as RFID blocks signal in doing so I could easily pull out another card or drop it or someone could snatch it from me, where before just needed to have card in wallet and tap near reader and it would pick up. Frankly I do not use my credit card just have everything on my iphone and just use that to pay
I agree and great way to adjust your carry.
Really like your content sir 👍
Well: I fear less the theft regarding cash loss, but really the scanning for tracking and marketing purposes. That thread is real or not?
Tracking you and your information, yes that is a concern and unfortunately will continue to grow.
this is mostly true if you live in the us, in the UK and likely the rest of Europe contactless payments are unanimous and have been for years, it's more likely that someone has an RFID card than not
Yes and outside the US, stripe's are gone, so the chip/pin addresses any sniffing or cloning. RFID is good in a chip/pin environment. It's when skimmers are used that there's no protection, even an RFID card. I've got an updated video coming on this.
You saved me some money by providing this information! What you say makes perfect sense! Thanks! ❤
Thanks for the video I am so glad I found your channel
Welcome!
This really helped me out. I just had my card number stolen and was looking for an RFID blocking wallet as a precaution to make sure it didn't happen again. Glad I watched this before making a purchase as the card was not even a wireless card to begin with lol.
Sir
When will you review Sreeleather's bifold wallets?
What about remote key fobs for expensive automobiles? I know certain materials can be used to create a faraday cage for your key fob so they cannot be hacked by would be car thieves.
Yes, when not using your car, you should pop it into a RFID blocking pouch. It does act as a faraday to prevent keys from being cloned and your car stolen. Especially if your car is parked outside a garage, you should do that.
@@walletopiaYou actually don't need to do that if it was manufactured after a certain year because it does set a similar thing as credit cards
My daughter went overseas last week. Every one of her cards was hacked. Even ones she never used. RFID readers at the airport got her.
Main problem now is that a lot of companies don't offer a non-RFID version.
Very true and very unfortunate.
Thanks for all the information. I did not know about the electronics involved for RFID is on the card and that data could possibly picked up by hackers to steal your data. There is no harm in buying some inexpensive protective wallet or card that blocks possible hackers - plus they can carry the rest of the identity cards we have. Why is this such a big deal to say this is a SCAM. Note: I did find out my card does have RFID.
Take care.
Not how men feel about things like this, but that shirt looks fantastic on you :)
Thanks!
Good video, I've always wondered about the whole RFID thing.
Hi, Mark -- I'm a new subscriber as of one minute ago. You saved me from purchasing a Ridge wallet, and now I'm leaning towards an XSTO. I really appreciate your content and your efforts. Thank you for what you do!
Great to hear! Welcome to the addiction!
wait... whats weong with ridge wallets? do they not work?
Okay, you're making a big thing of distinguishing this unencrypted outdated RFID technology that could be used to clone cards, and modern NFC technology which is more secure. But NFC is just an extension of RFID-they use the same underlying data transfer principles, so if a wallet is RFID blocking, this means it's NFC blocking too!
And while a modern NFC-enabled card can't be contactlessly cloned, it can still be charged a one-off payment! I don't know about elsewhere, but the limit for a contactless payment in the UK is £100.
Oh and pretty much all cards in the UK are NFC-enabled, so it certainly _would_ make sense for a thief to scan random pockets and wallets-no specialist equipment would be required, just a standard contactless pay terminal (which can be quite small now).
Yes on all you said except for the cryptographic key between the card/phone and the terminal. You can't clone that which prevents the transaction from being performed when the terminal contacts the bank. The exception for that are banks (around 9% of them) who still don't require the iCVC to validate the transaction, at which point the clone could be successful.
not a single test of whether RFID blocking wallets work though.
They work, assuming the threat is real, which has been proven to be so low it begs the question why limit yourself to just RFID wallets. My point, also made on my follow up video is, if you’re worried about it, get an RFID blocking card or sleeve and get any wallet you want.
RFID is still skimmed off of access points in schools and apartment buildings.
Correct, but not your credit cards, those are access cards.
@@walletopia and access cards should be shielded whenever possible.
We use emv chip on credit cards and atm cards now in the Philippines. The transition happened like two or three years ago, I think. And we use RFID for expressways. So when my cousin living in Canada has given me a hardcase for storing cards and told me it’s to keep my information from getting stolen, I was rather confused. I’ve never heard of people in my country getting their info stolen via RFID. I think it’s more likely for us to have our atm or credit card info stolen from cloning devices or from actual thieves, than by RFID. 🤷♀️
If you have more than one RFID card in your wallet, which is more and more prevalent each day, doesn’t that confuse skimmers because they can’t tell the multiple cards apart and appears as garbage data?
god this video is 3 years old and Ridge wallet is still all over youtube, along with countless other "smart wallets". amazing analysis.
I do think RFID protection has a valid place, and that is avoiding card clash. I have a wallet which is RFID protected, except for one slot which I put my oyster card in, which avoids card clash and charging the wrong card (which has happened to me before). This is a valid use of RFID protection, but I do agree in terms of fraud it serves no purpose.
Great insight and one I hadn't thought of. I would still use an RFID card for that compartmentalization instead of built-in RFID, but you're right.
@@walletopia thanks! I love your channel and videos. If you wanted to see an example of what I mentioned above, I have the Nodus hifold wallet and I bought it pretty much because of the solo tap slot, a feature I've not seen on your channel on any wallets yet! Living in London means public transport very regularly and not having to remove an oyster card from a wallet to tap is a must really.
@@TheIMMVP Oh, I like that! I just ordered and will put it on the review schedule. Thanks!
Thanks!
People are dumb, they hear RFID blocking, they see it has bonus protection.
I went to buy a new wallet at Ross and every single one of them were RFID blocking so it's not like I had anything to worry about or much of a choice lol
All cheap wallets, very unfortunate! 😂
@@walletopia
Might have to finally make the upgrade to metal this year since I at least know I'll be getting quality
They are back again- I just got one on Monday! I know a bunch of others in my company have chase and citicorp ones they got this past year. I just checked and see two of my other cards have that wave on it. Should any of us be at all concerned?
They never truly left, but came back more secure when chip and pin arrived (finally for the United States). With chip and pin you're good to go. It was when we didn't have any crypto on the card communication with the reader we had problems. And then generally, it's nearly impossible to sniff credit cards anymore.
Unencrypted RFID is still used at many corporations that haven't updated their door systems. But RFID blocking wallets are not the solution. The corporations need to update their systems.
BUll! A criminal will stand around and walk around looking for a victim.When he finds one it is pay day and inspired to look for more.
With chip and pin those opportunities are really over. I have an updated video coming
Not sure how this would apply in the Netherlands where everyone uses debit cards instead of credit cards. Nearly all debit cards here have wireless paying implemented by default. Not sure if that's RFID or anything else. Anyway, it only works when the card is super close to the payment terminal, like 5cm or less. A wireless paying terminal is super cheap to buy so theoretically, they could gain multiple payments of up to €25 per card if they bump into you with the payment terminal in their pocket (as that was the limit per payment before they increased that with the COVID pandemic so people could pay higher amounts without having to touch terminals). They need to bump into you with the terminal pretty much touching where you have your card though.
5 cm sounds like RFID. But if you have Interac Flash (which it should say on your card) those are EMV so they don't use RFID. EMV means it practically needs to be touching the terminal to work. or just hovering under 1 cm away.
actually its not that complicated. You would need to know the store owner or be sneaky about it - but you can easily set up a scanner very close to the reader without anyone knowing. It will just grab cards all day long. no one needs to be there. Just like the ones they use on ATM's to grab your mag strip information.
True, but if your card has a chip and pin, if you clone it and try to use it in a card present purchase, the request compares the CVC with the iCVC on the chip. If they don't match, it will fail the purchase.
I see you are not using public transportation - the place the RFID theft takes place in most cases.
I use public transportation quite often. But besides rumor, Reddit and people believing, I’ve never read where it’s been proven to happen.
@@walletopia Has it crossed your mind that there are other countries on other continents where public transportation is crowded, where buses and metro are packed like tin of sardines? Believe me rfid dump download in those places happen.
Sure anything is possible. But remember I’m talking about not needing and RFID blocking wallet. Which due to the availability of blocking cards and sleeves, if you’re still concerned, can use. But there’s really no need to settle for an RFID wallet which are generally cheaply made.
Thank you! Love your good reviews and everything you guys are up to. And thank you for clarifying this. I hope many people watches this video in particular!