Technology that could steal your money

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (WWLP) - Credit card companies are using technology to make it even easier for you to spend money with them, but 22News found out that this new technology could leave you exposed to scams.

That's right some new credit cards don't have to be swiped, some just have to be held up to a scanner. It makes the transaction quick and easy, but it also makes it easy for a thief to steal your information.

The latest batch of high tech credit cards can be charged using Radio Frequency Identification, also known as RFID. It's the technology that makes these credit cards "contact less," you may not even know you have one. If your card has a wave symbol on the back, you do.

Kevin Fu, Professor of Comp. Science at UMass, said, “The way one makes a payment with a contact less credit card is you take the credit card that's still in the wallet and you just wave it to hear the cash register and the payment is done.”

Some companies are actually creating apps so your phone can become your credit card.

Kirby Detmers of Easthampton said, “I think it would be great just to take my phone and flash it and charge something to my credit card.”

It's pretty cool technology, but, it can also be dangerous. A thief could easily buy one of these RFID readers for just five dollars on eBay and steal your info.

“An individual could just walk up to you with the reader, bump into your backside and have your credit card and you don't even need one, new phones have an RFID reader in them,” said Michael Aiello, President of DIFRwear.

One way to prevent credit card fraud is to put these cards into special RFID blocking sleeves. You can also buy special wallets that disable RFID readers when your card is inside them.

This same technology can also be used on passports; any passports issued after 2007 are susceptible to these scams. So it’s a good idea to buy a special cover that disables RFID readers when your passport is inside of it.