Identity Theft and New Credit Card Technology
How New No-Swipe Credit Cards Can Lead to Identity Theft
There is a new technology that at first might appear to make our lives easier but comes with the hidden possibility of actually increasing our risk of identity theft. In fact, not only can it increase our chances of identity theft, it can increase your risk of fraudulent credit card transactions. If you want to know what this technology is and how you can protect yourself from becoming a victim of identity theft because of it.
What’s a No-Swipe Credit Card?
A no-swipe credit card is a card that would enable consumers to make purchases without even having to swipe their credit cards. It would also not require the consumer to sign for purchases. Obviously, there are certain risks associated with using this new type of credit card.
This type of technology brings up an interesting point -- whether or not the perceived convenience is worth the trade off of putting your personal and financial information at risk. The credit card works by transmitting personal information by radio waves. No one’s really saying what happens if someone manages to intercept those waves and download the credit card information to a portable device.
Is It Worth the Risk?
Eliminating the need to present a credit card may seem like a real timesaver to some consumers, but the price can be high. Once identity theft occurs, it can be difficult and time-consuming to resolve completely, if ever. Is the convenience of the new generation of credit cards really worth the increased potential for identity theft? Many consumers must think so because there are already millions of credit card users who are taking advantage of this new technology.
An identity theft criminal could possibly snag your personal information when you are making a purchase if the criminal is within close proximity to you when you present your credit card. Even if the card is still in your purse, with sophisticated equipment, identity theft criminals can still possibly access your personal information.
Credit card companies disagree with the potential for identity theft and indicate that the ability to read information from the new credit cards would be limited to a mere few inches. Until more is known, it is usually better to err on the side of caution. As a consumer, you have to weigh for yourself the potential convenience versus the increased potential for identity theft.