what do people use to block RFID in Wallets?

[ToddW]

I see these wallets that say they block RFID readers.. what do they use to do that?  is it a liner?

[Northmount]

  On 7/2/2023 at 2:12 AM, ToddW said:

I see these wallets that say they block RFID readers.. what do they use to do that?  is it a liner?

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Did you try a search here?  Lots of threads.

https://leatherworker.net/forum/search/?q=rfid&quick=1

 

[ToddW]

ok.. that was my laziness.. sorry about that one..

[Handstitched]

  On 7/2/2023 at 2:12 AM, ToddW said:

what do they use to do that?

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For my own personal credit card, I went to the bank and got the ' pay wave' component deactivated .  The EFTPOS machines kept picking up my credit card while it was still in my wallet and no-where near the machine, it was in my left hand and I do transactions with my right, either with cash or a savings card, go figure.  I didn't realise how sensitive those machines are.

But I really should think about using RFID shielding  when I make wallets. 

HS

[fredk]

I use plumbers' aluminium tape. A roll of about 45mm x 45m costs, generally, under £/$5, Wider widths and longer rolls are available but I find 45mm wide suitable.  I've tested it and it works well, it blocks even sensitive card readers from reading cards right up to touching them. And a roll will last you a lot of card holders or wallets. Its very thin and self-adhesive. Just stick it on one or both pieces of leather forming the card pocket and cover with a thin piece of cloth lining material

[pikefish]

As fredk recommends, aluminum foil works great too! Most gimick fabics dont work from my experience(ex IT geek), lots of theives line thier bags with alfoil to evade scanner...

Im keen to make a rfid card holder too but looking for alternatives to aluminum, would that work long term? Also it has to seal well or be wrapped to work well?

[pikefish]

  On 7/2/2023 at 3:52 AM, Handstitched said:

For my own personal credit card, I went to the bank and got the ' pay wave' component deactivated .  The EFTPOS machines kept picking up my credit card while it was still in my wallet and no-where near the machine, it was in my left hand and I do transactions with my right, either with cash or a savings card, go figure.  I didn't realise how sensitive those machines are.

But I really should think about using RFID shielding  when I make wallets. 

HS

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I use a scalpel and cutt the antenna off the chip, hold your card upto a bright light and make two cuts on each side off chip. Chip still works! Never trust a bank, lol.

[fredk]

  On 7/2/2023 at 7:51 PM, pikefish said:

Im keen to make a rfid card holder too but looking for alternatives to aluminum, would that work long term? . . . 

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The aluminium tape works, why look for an alternative? Why should it not work long term? There is no 'wear & tear' on its blocking

  On 7/2/2023 at 7:51 PM, pikefish said:

Also it has to seal well or be wrapped to work well?

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I made a simple card case as tester. The case held four cards. I put a piece of the adhesive aluminium tape on the inside side of each outer cover. Each piece was slightly larger than the cards.  I covered that with thin cloth and sewed it up. No card reader could read any of the cards in the case.

[kgg]

  On 7/2/2023 at 8:07 PM, fredk said:

The aluminium tape works, why look for an alternative?

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I like the KISS solution. Cheap, simple, effective and functional.

kgg

[pikefish]

I was only concerned with long livity, most alfoil and tape seems to 'tarnish' and deteriorate over time. In usa it might be better than the junk were sold down under, lol

[dikman]

Tarnishing won't make any difference. If you feel it's too thin double it up, if you put something each side (leather, cloth whatever) to protect it then it should last a very long time.

[Handstitched]

  On 7/2/2023 at 11:48 AM, fredk said:

I use plumbers' aluminium tape.

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Might give that a go  

HS

[Ferg]

I have a roll of stainless steel cloth.

[Tugadude]

Nowadays there’s a better chance you will lose your whole wallet to a pickpocket than encounter someone exploiting RFID.

 

[fredk]

There has been a great increase in 'creeper' car thefts in the UK. N.I. is seeing the biggest increase. Several expensive cars just last week. It targets 'key-less' cars.  In a 'creeper' theft the thief uses a special scanner reader to read the details of your electronic car 'key'. They can do it from up to 30ft from your key. Then they transfer the information to another device with which they can open your car and start it and drive away. All this inside about 3 minutes.

The technology these thieves use is the same as used for reading debit or credit cards, oe even bus passes

[pikefish]

  On 7/3/2023 at 4:25 PM, fredk said:

There has been a great increase in 'creeper' car thefts in the UK. N.I. is seeing the biggest increase. Several expensive cars just last week. It targets 'key-less' cars.  In a 'creeper' theft the thief uses a special scanner reader to read the details of your electronic car 'key'. They can do it from up to 30ft from your key. Then they transfer the information to another device with which they can open your car and start it and drive away. All this inside about 3 minutes.

The technology these thieves use is the same as used for reading debit or credit cards, oe even bus passes

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Bit off topic sorry.

Dumb cars, aka smart cars can be started and stopped from your phone, tablet, pc and remotely via evil corporation. Madness what they are promoting... Smart device = government/corporate control and data collection, not real smart. I drive a old 1993 4wd, I would never buy a digital car. Technology has been turned into a weapon and is being used against us!

The manufacturer is the biggest criminals!

Edited July 3, 2023 by pikefish
spelling, lol

[chuck123wapati]

  On 7/3/2023 at 5:20 PM, pikefish said:

Bit off topic sorry.

Dumb cars, aka smart cars can be started and stopped from your phone, tablet, pc and remotely via evil corporation. Madness what they are promoting... Smart device = government/corporate control and data collection, not real smart. I drive a old 1993 4wd, I would never buy a digital car. Technology has been turned into a weapon and is being used against us!

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you have only touched on the tip of the iceberg my friend. 5g isn't for us its for them!

[Frodo]

Lead WOOL. Spread it on on a cloth

beat to a consistent thickness

sew it between layers

 

do not suck on your fingers while working with lead or chew on it

[fredk]

  On 7/3/2023 at 5:45 PM, Frodo said:

Lead WOOL. . . . 

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you can buy sheets of extremely thin self-adhesive lead. Its meant for fly-making for fly fishing*. But, 1. its expensive for all you get  2. its much heavier than the aluminium tape, 3. if you go through a metal detector / scanner it will block that and you'll be pulled and searched    

* who fishes for flies?  

[Frodo]

  On 7/3/2023 at 6:06 PM, fredk said:

you can buy sheets of extremely thin self-adhesive lead. Its meant for fly-making for fly fishing*. But, 1. its expensive for all you get  2. its much heavier than the aluminium tape, 3. if you go through a metal detector / scanner it will block that and you'll be pulled and searched    

* who fishes for flies?  

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Searched?   
Having lead in your wallet is not a crime

you can not be detained and searched  for walking down the street

[fredk]

I meant, if you go through a metal detector at a government building or an airport the lead will block and the security staff there will want to know what the lead is hiding

[pikefish]

  On 7/3/2023 at 5:34 PM, chuck123wapati said:

you have only touched on the tip of the iceberg my friend. 5g isn't for us its for them!

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How long have you got? I could write a book on it! But Id get shot... I worked in IT/data communication, treasuries, reuters, big evil corps 20 years ago... Dont get me started mate, lol

[Tugadude]

https://losspreventionmedia.com/are-rfid-blocking-wallets-necessary-to-prevent-credit-card-theft/

[MedusaOblongata]

Tl;DR: RFID blocking is not at all necessary for security. It's just a marketing feature for a wallet maker.

I do leatherwork as a hobby but my day job is in the credit card department of a bank.

Theft via portable RFID scanners had been becoming a major issue at one point, you could walk through a crowd of people with a scanner in a briefcase and from several feet away capture people's credit card information, which could then be used to make transactions.

My bank stopped offering paywave as a feature on their cards.  A few years later they reintroduced that feature on newer cards. I contacted our fraud department directly and asked why they would do this, considering the security risks we saw materialize last time. They got back to me and explained some of the features in the reintroduced RFID system. While the old ones could be read at a greater distance, current ones must be within 3 inches or less from the machine. The old ones gave out the card number itself, which is what thieves can use; the new ones work like the EMV chip, that does not give out the 16 digit card number, but instead generates a one time use code that only works for that one transaction. If anyone were to scan your card now, all they'd get is a one time use code that's already been used and they can't even use it for a single transaction. This is also what merchants get when you insert your card to use the EMV chip, the merchant never gets your actual card number (which is reusable), they get a code that works only once for that transaction. This way if the merchant's system is hacked, the hackers don't get CC#s they can use, they just get used up codes they can do nothing with.

You don't need RFID blocking for security at all. It might be worth advertising it if your customers think it's a good idea, even though it won't improve their security.

[JohnNixon]

  On 11/6/2023 at 11:28 PM, MedusaOblongata said:

Tl;DR: RFID blocking is not at all necessary for security. It's just a marketing feature for a wallet maker.

I do leatherwork as a hobby but my day job is in the credit card department of a bank.

Theft via portable RFID scanners had been becoming a major issue at one point, you could walk through a crowd of people with a scanner in a briefcase and from several feet away capture people's credit card information, which could then be used to make transactions.

My bank stopped offering paywave as a feature on their cards.  A few years later they reintroduced that feature on newer cards. I contacted our fraud department directly and asked why they would do this, considering the security risks we saw materialize last time. They got back to me and explained some of the features in the reintroduced RFID system. While the old ones could be read at a greater distance, current ones must be within 3 inches or less from the machine. The old ones gave out the card number itself, which is what thieves can use; the new ones work like the EMV chip, that does not give out the 16 digit card number, but instead generates a one time use code that only works for that one transaction. If anyone were to scan your card now, all they'd get is a one time use code that's already been used and they can't even use it for a single transaction. This is also what merchants get when you insert your card to use the EMV chip, the merchant never gets your actual card number (which is reusable), they get a code that works only once for that transaction. This way if the merchant's system is hacked, the hackers don't get CC#s they can use, they just get used up codes they can do nothing with.

You don't need RFID blocking for security at all. It might be worth advertising it if your customers think it's a good idea, even though it won't improve their security. People often use RFID-blocking materials in wallets to protect against unauthorized scanning of RFID chips found in credit cards and passports. This protection is crucial for personal security and privacy, preventing potential identity theft and financial fraud.For more insight into the technology that protects digital information and enhances financial transactions, consider visiting https://dashdevs.com/blog/digital-wallet-types-guide/ this guide offers comprehensive information on different types of digital wallets, including those equipped with security features that safeguard against various digital threats.

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agree with you

Edited May 1, 2024 by JohnNixon