Wallet RFID Blocking is a scam!!

[@dav__71]

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.

[@walletopia]

Excellent use case, thanks David!

[@christopherkrause337]

clever

[@familyacct3367]

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!

[@walletopia]

Glad I could help

[@Huntgolfride]

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.

[@charlesgunzelman3323]

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 This video needs an update and to possibly be deleted because it's simply outdated.

[@Trying858]

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.

[@Avicados]

@@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

[@danilovolles9576]

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 ♡

[@sebs30v]

People acting out of fear instead of facts.

[@anzelmasmatutis2500]

@@sebs30v Hoping that thieves will NOT steel from you, we hear ya :P

[@Lucas-jc2rq]

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

[@kg4tnp]

Ecmv does not work that way

[@lam1991hahaha]

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

[@walletopia]

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

[@leepy120]

I am still going keep my cards under my tin foil hat, just in case 😉

[@N11-xr9pi1]

that wold actually work...

[@FrankOfSerendipity]

That would make radio singles stronger.

[@atharvatikekar7307]

Lol 😉😅

[@rikkicanada-stinney2875]

Good Idea!!!♡

[@budsak7771]

@@FrankOfSerendipity turn it into a satellite dish 🤣

[@asbinder8]

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.

[@walletopia]

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.

[@TheLetterK81]

@@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

[@kingjon5818]

@@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

[@TheLetterK81]

@@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

[@Iocis_EN]

Yeahh. I literally just farted and lost all my data 0:23

[@wayneskynet8265]

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.

[@inspiredthanksforsharing3766]

Will wrapping your card in tin foil help?

[@DarthAwar]

​@@inspiredthanksforsharing3766 yes

[@hollow314]

Do you also happen to also work for company like ridge wallets?

[@a1isrising]

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

[@kg4tnp]

Could you prove it? Your claim does not mirror reality and i think you made this claim up

[@mcnairmetcalfe2801]

This just saved me $15

[@friedchicken5038]

me 2

[@johnnavarro2911]

Just saved me $130

[@abes3925]

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

[@yoshilikestrains]

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)

[@thefreedomguyuk]

@@yoshilikestrains You are absolutely right there!

[@11465106]

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.

[@MonstaAU]

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.

[@AVdE10000]

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?

[@Chosen1Drums]

Video title should be “RFID BLOCKING is a scam”...

[@walletopia]

Done!

[@cardless5777]

@@walletopia wow you actually did it! I am not used to this!!!

[@walletopia]

@@cardless5777 When it's right it's right, no ego here. :)

[@Boubson]

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.)

[@walletopia]

@@marcusjackson5837 Likely due to their military ID and/or access cards.

[@kentalks2818]

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

[@walletopia]

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.

[@jammive]

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.

[@walletopia]

Interesting use case, didn't think of that before and I love the solution!

[@Chirpingcherub]

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

[@walletopia]

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.

[@thefreedomguyuk]

@@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]

@@thefreedomguyuk You obviously don't understand what's happening. I will defer you to this document for clarity, bit.ly/3oQ2rps

[@Tearlach]

@@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.

[@walletopia]

@@Tearlach Yep, that makes total sense.

[@jaccckky8978]

Should I have one if the personal ID card have RFID chips and want to block them from "smart lamppost" in Hong Kong ?

[@walletopia]

As a wallet? No I would still say no as you can get an RFID card which you can use in all your wallets.

[@TongueJedi]

It has been two years since this video. Has there been any changes to be concerned about either in the states or other countries?

[@walletopia]

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.

[@DirkJanFotografie]

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.

[@An.Unsought.Thought]

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.

[@Hybridious]

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...

[@Ecktor]

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.

[@warwagon]

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.

[@walletopia]

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.

[@warwagon]

@@walletopia Can it be used to make a stripe card or to run a credit card transaction online?

[@henryroif8537]

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!

[@nerp27]

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.

[@walletopia]

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.

[@nerp27]

@@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.

[@walletopia]

@@nerp27 Makes sense, I'd agree. I wonder how an RFID blocking card would do instead of buying a full RFID wallet?

[@eddiethecounsel]

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

[@walletopia]

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.

[@debbiechase7762]

Aluminum foil is a cheap conversion for any wallet just in case but good to know it’s mostly not needed.

[@u.d.7543]

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?

[@walletopia]

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.

[@seworley1]

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 ???

[@geanorawestlake8456]

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?

[@walletopia]

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.

[@altairferoli]

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

[@patriciaszabo8015]

Well those banks.

[@TheDallasdeadeye]

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

[@walletopia]

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.

[@J.S.McDuff]

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!

[@jaredp6588]

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.

[@paulone-off7286]

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.

[@walletopia]

I would get a blocking sleeve for your card, that'll take care of it without needing a new wallet.

[@paulone-off7286]

@@walletopia Cool, sounds like a plan, thanks.

[@Marco-vx3zp]

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?

[@walletopia]

Do you know at what type of location? Was it Internet based or in-present transaction? Also, was your card a chip and pin?

[@Marco-vx3zp]

@@walletopia I was begging charged for several things such as taxi, shops etc… we have pay wave + chip here in AU

[@CerealKilla1991]

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?

[@walletopia]

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.

[@CerealKilla1991]

@@walletopia done , Just switched to a Good phone case 😃

[@danc2014]

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.

[@walletopia]

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.

[@skyllo]

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. 🤷‍♀️

[@chriseg3152]

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.

[@walletopia]

"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.

[@Mohammad_Ali__]

Now this had me totally change my mind about getting a minimalist wallet.

[@TARHOP]

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?

[@walletopia]

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.

[@FlarkeFiasco]

I guess I'm spending a whole afternoon at your channel lol. Good stuff man

[@walletopia]

Thanks! Great to have you!

[@mehmetocak6849]

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.

[@walletopia]

Oh yes, I can see that interpretation.

[@rajivravio]

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.

[@walletopia]

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.

[@paulh2981]

"...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.

[@patrickriarchy6054]

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.

[@walletopia]

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.

[@obnor7722]

Love this dude, sounds like he knows his stuff.

[@thefreedomguyuk]

Well, let me tell you....he doesn't.

[@s7a8m]

If i put my car keys in a RFID zip wallet, will RFID act as a Faraday pouch?

[@walletopia]

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]

Thanks @@walletopia! I will try that. What do you recommend for this experiment, Belroy Folio Mini or Vaultskin Notting Hill?

[@walletopia]

@@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.

[@CHP81]

With numerous tourists on the street these days.. thieves need no longer stand on the street for far too long 😂

[@itsammar92]

What are some good slim wallets that aren't rfid

[@JALC-x]

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

[@walletopia]

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.

[@oneupplus3146]

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!!!

[@walletopia]

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.

[@oneupplus3146]

@@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.

[@BMcCoyOfficial]

This didn’t age very well

[@walletopia]

That’s why I made an updated video. Link in the description.

[@vaporjoes]

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.

[@walletopia]

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.

[@adamhopes4620]

Whilst I take the point about how low the actual risk of this type of theft is, RFID in the UK is on every card and forms primary way of paying over here with the limit being raised all the time. This, for the majority is taking over from chip and pin which we've had for a decade or so now... im not sure if the tech in our cards differs/is more secure from RFID but its cetainly not being taken away from our cards any time soon its just too widely used and as mentioned limits being increased not lowered.

[@walletopia]

RFID is the vehicle for the data transfer where the open text from the stripe or the encrypted packets from the chip. I have a new video which updates this video here - kzbin.info/www/bejne/ol7LnWyZobuCiLM

[@Julianmp97]

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.

[@walletopia]

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.

[@FilmFan-iv7sz]

Very helpful video thank you

[@lucyboy8276]

Sir When will you review Sreeleather's bifold wallets?

[@osteopata777]

Thank You for Your reference ant time filming. May I ask at this point about Keyless go for cars? Thank You.

[@EvanBerry.]

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!

[@walletopia]

Great to hear! Welcome to the addiction!

[@TacoBellCheatDay]

wait... whats weong with ridge wallets? do they not work?

[@crystalbeverly3166]

What kind of wallet do you carry?

[@tinoyamaliev7682]

@walletopia You say 1% of cards are contactless, maybe in USA they are, but for example in Bulgaria all bank cards are nowadays contactless.

[@walletopia]

Hi Tino, the contactless cards I mentioned are those that are do not have a pin and chip. The one's without pin and chip are the dangerous one's. If you have a pin and chip and it's contactless (most are these days), then you're good.

[@Bandersnatch786]

Preface: Not a tinfoil hat, but someone who actually works in the financial industry (10 yrs) and is very familiar with cryptography. Chip and PIN has nothing to do with contactless payments. Chip and pin refers to the EMV chip being inserted into the POS terminal and the PIN you physically enter. Contactless payments rely on an RSA style encryption where in order to decrypt the information transmitted by the card, you need a public key and private key. One key is on your card, the other at the bank. Some cards use a system level key, meaning the key on your card is shared between the contactless and EMV. Further, card reading devices powerful enough to read cards from as much as 1 foot away are widely and inexpensively available and easily hidden in an innocuous accessory such as a large shoulder bag, backpack or messenger bag (Modern Rogue demonstrated this perfectly). Are credit cards easy to skim via contactless? Yes. Is the encryption easy to break? No, however like all encryption, it's only a matter of time. So why is an RFID blocking wallet actually a good idea? Because even a partially broken encryption (like older interations of RSA still in use by a large number of contactless credit and debit cards AND in banking systems) will still give criminals enough information about your card and financial institutions to defraud you of your money. The problem is that banks and transaction networks are incredibly slow to upgrade anything, including encryption algorithms because it risks money flowing through their systems and therefore puts risk to their bottom line which is more important to them than your personal data or YOUR money. Banks aren't concerned with someone using your card for a shopping spree, they're concerned that someone will find the private key information and use it to gain access to their transaction system which threaten the banks profits. So RFID blocking wallets are an additional step people can take to protect their financial data, if it's something they're concerned about. Also don't count on that ID badge you carry around to have any level of encryption on it that a skilled criminal can't decrypt completely. They're worse than bank cards. Finally, contactless payment is the most secure method of payment one could make at a POS terminal, because it means you don't have to insert your card into anything. You should always avoid inserting your card into any POS or ATM if at all possible because all cards still use a magnetic strip where your data sits completely unencrypted. So card skimming devices are still used to read that unencrypted data and can be used to make fraudulent transactions.

[@3xceed]

Main problem now is that a lot of companies don't offer a non-RFID version.

[@walletopia]

Very true and very unfortunate.

[@silversteinmma]

god this video is 3 years old and Ridge wallet is still all over youtube, along with countless other "smart wallets". amazing analysis.

[@lacboiatl]

Sad but you haven't been to Atlanta. They'll act like they are in line and scan your pocket

[@chrisbo3493]

Well: I fear less the theft regarding cash loss, but really the scanning for tracking and marketing purposes. That thread is real or not?

[@walletopia]

Tracking you and your information, yes that is a concern and unfortunately will continue to grow.

[@peterlang3369]

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

[@walletopia]

I agree and great way to adjust your carry.

[@freddyzdead1]

Excuse me, I have a Tommy Hilfiger RFID blocking wallet, and not only does it work, but it is made from real leather, folds into a very small unit, really it does everything I want and protects me from what you didn't mention; a thief with a hidden reader surreptitiously brushing it past my pocket.

[@adhominem_]

2/3 of all debit card payments here in the UK are contactless..

[@walletopia]

Correct, RFID is good, RFID wallets are not necessary.

[@adhominem_]

@@walletopia yeah, totally agree. My comment was more about the statement that contactless is not popular :)

[@walletopia]

@@adhominem_ my mistake then, it’s VERY popular and a great thing. Thanks!

[@g0fvt]

Although RFID crime may be a small issue in real life an issue I have seen is people swipe their entire wallet across the sensor pad and can get billed to the wrong card. If one of the cars has a loyalty scheme active on it but a transaction gets billed to the wrong card it can be expensive. Having said that I will stick to my leather wallet with a conductive piece of plastic next to my bank card. An rf shielded container to keep some of the later proximity car keys in I would say is near mandatory. "Relay attack" theft of cars is not unusual in the UK, basically a thief will take a device right up to your house or wherever the keys are likely to be and "relay" the RF traffic between car and key so the car "thinks" you are right next to it. There is no harm in being careful, but don't get ripped off doing it...

[@tony_bologna]

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?

[@gjjakobsen]

Great video! I've known people keeping their cards wrapped in tinfoil when they should maybe have made a hat from it instead. In any event, your points are spot-on and well-taken. Caveat? When they said to invest in the tech sector, some thought it meant buying a skimmer and standing next to an ATM. Bad investment. I suppose there are a few miscreants out there but for every time my card has been hacked, it was from info I provided an online vendor or from a restaurant receipt, not a creepy guy with an electronic device inches from my backside. Despite the alleged dangers, I love the contactless cards, especially nowadays where touching the communal green arrow button at the checkout makes me shudder.

[@Zogus100]

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?

[@walletopia]

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.

[@thefreedomguyuk]

@@walletopia Ignorance is bliss. You really ought to know your enemy better.

[@walletopia]

@@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.

[@manwiththestar2305]

The ladies in the house have a lot of cards. Diffrent types of bonus cards. Some of these have RFID and often before getting a metal wallet it set off the alarms in several stores. So it was mostly not an issu with scamming but an issue of being falsely accused for theft and thievery, often having to show all content of purses, that made the ladies use thoes wallets with rfid blocking. I have been accused of theft just by havnig a bag that was empty (that I was going to use to for the items I bougt sicne the plastic or paper bags wasnt free) but only being treated like a criminal was enough for me to refuse to show the bag was empty and demand that police was called. I do have rights but I dont really have time to deal with the stores and thats why I try to use a metal card holder.

[@walletopia]

VERY interesting situation, too bad the scanners can't differentiate between merchandise anti-theft tags and everything else with a tag in it!

[@greenspiraldragon]

Do the blocking wallets even work? I put my rfid work badge in my blocking wallet and the doors could still read it easily.

[@walletopia]

It depends as there are two frequencies of which, usually hotel cards, work cards, etc are on the lower end. So if it's supposed to block credit cards then I don't know if is working as credit cards emit the higher frequency.

[@Starmast3rmusic]

My Passport card has RFID built in, so no, having an RFID-Proof wallet isn't a complete scam.

[@walletopia]

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.

[@Starmast3rmusic]

@@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.

[@walletopia]

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.

[@Starmast3rmusic]

​@@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

[@walletopia]

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.

[@depdoc]

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.

[@Carnyzzle]

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

[@walletopia]

All cheap wallets, very unfortunate! 😂

[@Carnyzzle]

@@walletopia Might have to finally make the upgrade to metal this year since I at least know I'll be getting quality

[@Latitude2010]

Excellent video I learned a lot thank you very much. I have cancelled an order and I saved few Euros 💶

[@dathyr1]

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.

[@rorilee9791]

Not how men feel about things like this, but that shirt looks fantastic on you :)

[@walletopia]

Thanks!

[@TheIMMVP]

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]

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.

[@TheIMMVP]

@@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.

[@rmarkward]

@@TheIMMVP Oh, I like that! I just ordered and will put it on the review schedule. Thanks!

[@alminomalazajr]

there was one time new readers were so good, that they were able to steal money here. but the cops caught them. emv and encryption might be difficult to hack, nefarious entities would rather not spend time hacking it which would take really long in today's average computer, and you cannot capture it right away. but i am paranoid of it, i will make my own shielding.

[@walletopia]

Absolutely! My main comments in the video was don't spend money on an RFID wallet when you can buy a card or use other material yourself, then you can buy the wallet you want.

[@j.a.styles547]

And its very cheap to bock RFID ... anything with aluminium...

[@oldskooldagreat4048]

I’ve been got before. AMEX took care of the charge but i had to go through the hassle of updating card info on everything i had auto pay on . Which is pretty much everything

[@walletopia]

Was it a skimmer or you were just nailed? This happens often enough with data breaches and insiders stealing your info. I feel your pain, being required to go in and update your auto-pay accounts everywhere is a pain.

[@oldskooldagreat4048]

@@walletopia not sure it was some years ago.

[@H.C.Q.]

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.

[@walletopia]

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.

[@llllll-ux2lz]

I didn’t lose anything because customers are at fault for fraud, however its annoying to have to cancel and wait for a new debit card to come to you via mail as well as deal with the banks fraud department just to get your money back.

[@Nimiety327]

I had my credit card info stolen and i'm fairly sure this was how. I didn't lose my card and it's one i rarely use at all. I can't be 100% sure how they got the information but my best guess is RFID. It's the only card that was copied and the only one i had that had that weve-like logo on it. 12 hours before the thief tried to use it, i was at a flea market and there was a moment where a guy kept feeling uncomfortably close to me, acting interested in the same thing i was interested in. Anyways, if anyone does have one of these RFID cards, please be cautious.

[@CWO4D]

thank you Walletopia for the great information.....i will pass along to my family...Cheers!!

[@JoachimWiberg]

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!

[@mr.wholeworld2606]

Thank you sir, clear cut explanation, a relief.

[@islagames]

Clone scare is a big industry... I never heard some ATM card being cloned.

[@walletopia]

If a skimmer is installed on the ATM then it's possible and has happened. However, to have someone try and clone your card via radio signal has never been verified in the field. It was experimented on in the lab, but several journalists have looked and low and never found evidence that it happened in practice.

[@ernie548]

I am pretty sure its an issue still. You just hear less about it. I think the stats for use and theft are closely guarded to hard to get at. So unless your friends/family have had it happen and they even know how it happened, you would not have any idea that it occurred at all. Its worth some thought for sure, especially those who travel, and secondarily those who commute in mass transit.

[@erin7995]

good video thought i needed rfid but realized that ive been using a cheap leather wallet for 30 years with no issues

[@devgtia]

in my country ( egypt ) one of my friends get a 400 egy.pound stolen due to rfid :(

[@burpofhunger]

I develop payment products, nfc, rfid n emv. I also build my own wallets out of carbon, cordura copper fabrics and other ultra cool materials. I recommend and use rfid protection. If u live where u use magstrip n emv only without contactless payment, then u dont need rfid protection. Where I live contactless payment is the preferred choice. After doing thousands of hours on UATs, I only use rfid protected wallets.

[@Splexsychiick]

A year ago the amount of cards with RFID might have been about 1%. Now I'm sure the percentage has spiked. Recently my bank mass distributed new cards with RFID. Gave us no choice. Encouraged customers to come change their cards even if not near their current card expiration date. Almost every bank in my area now has RFID cards.

[@walletopia]

Yes, all new cards have RFID, along with the chip and pin system. Meaning, when you go to tap pay, the chip and pin is being used which makes sniffing virtually impossible.

[@SillyOmega]

@@walletopia some stores dont reqire pin number.

[@donwhitmire978]

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.

[@walletopia]

With chip and pin those opportunities are really over. I have an updated video coming

[@Ed-em6mf]

And here I was looking for RFID wallets all day... Nutcracker :D

[@skighsthelimit]

I've had my information stolen 2 both from skimming at atms Never once had it taken from tap

[@noampitlik2332]

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.'

[@stuartmiles2863]

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!)

[@walletopia]

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.

[@stuartmiles2863]

@@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.

[@walletopia]

Agreed, I love tap payment which is why I complain often when a wallet doesn’t have an external card slot for organization.