All newly issued passports and many credit cards include a RFID (radio frequency identification) chip with personal information that can be read by anyone with an RFID reader.
Some RFID chips can be read from as far as 10 feet away.
Effectively blocks unauthorized RFID readers.
Leather trim, interior
Ballistic nylon exterior
Travelon RFID Blocking Wallet
You lock your car, and your house, why not lock your personal data as well? This RFID Wallet prevents unauthorized RFID access to your personal information.
The Travelon RFID Blocking Wallet is perfect for anyone who wants additional security for their new RFID Passport ID Card that fits in your wallet.
The new wallet-size U.S. Passport Card is a travel document that can be used to enter the United States from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda at land border crossings or sea ports-of-entry.
No more need to carry you huge passport (note that the card cannot be used for international air travel), you can simply carry new Passport ID Card in your new RFID Wallet - if you want the protection it deserves.
The protective RFID Blocking Wallet will not only organize your Passport card, credit cards, and money, but it will block unauthorized RFID readers from accessing your sensitive personal information embedded in debit and credit cards, as well.
RFID Wallet Looks and Functions Like a Regular Wallet
The Travelon RFID wallet looks just like any other wallet, however, embedded between the leather, is a RFID protective layer that prevents RFID scanners from accessing your cards data. The Wallet features 6 credit card slots and 2 separate compartments for currency.
The RFID Blocking Wallet is perfect for anyone who wants additional security for their new RF enabled credit cards, drivers license, or US Passport Card that easily fits in your wallet.
The new wallet-size U.S. Passport Card is a travel document that can be used to enter the United States from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda at land border crossings or sea ports-of-entry.
Additionally, the RFID Blocking Wallet can be used to protect digital information embedded in a variety of RFID enabled cards such as:
All new contactless credit cards
US Passport Cards
Enhanced Driver's Licenses such as Washington, Michigan, New York, and Vermont
Many transit cards such as the DC Metro and Boston Charlie™ card
sQuid cards used in Europe
RFID TV News Report Showing How "Electronic Pickpocketing" Occurs
RFID TV News Report Showing How "Electronic Pickpocketing" Occurs
Prevents "Electronic Pickpocketing"
Many of the credit card companies are issuing credit cards which contain Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology that lets you simply wave your credit card, passport or license in front of a nearby scanner instead of having to slide the magnetic stripe through it.
It’s a fairly simple concept. The electronic scanner sends a signal which is received by an antenna embedded into the card, which is connected to the card's RF chip, thus activating it.
The biggest recent change in credit cards is the embedded Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chip, enabling what the industry calls "contactless payments."
Since 2005, many credit card companies such as Chase Bank began introducing their RF Credit Card and coined the term "Blink" technology. These "contactless" cards could be simply waved in front of an RFID Enabled Point of Sale terminal.
The apparent benefits of RFID credit card transactions are convenience, speed and the elimination of employee contact with the card. To minimize accidental reading of these cards, they are designed to be read at a distance of one to four inches from the reader. Its because of this technology that can allow an RF enabled card to be "hi-jacked" by use of an unauthorized RFID scanner, and then theinformation used for fraudulent purposes. It is important to note that there are two parts to this process: Scanning the card to retrieve the information, and then being able to use the retrieved information to make a fraudulent financial transaction.
The implication in recent media articles is that it is easy to"hi-jack" the RFID information, and that it is easy to then use this information to make fraudulent purchases. That where the use of the RFID Blocking Wallet comes into play. By placing your RF enabled cards into this case, they are protected from being “hi-jacked” by an unauthorized person.
What kind of electronic information is inside your new US Passport ID, electronic PASS or NEXUS Card?
Many changes have occurred to US entry documents over the last several years. Among new options are the chipped "e-passport," and the new, electronic PASS card - both credit-card sized, now include an RFID (radio frequency identification data) chip, all of which hold varying types of your information. Each card (depending on the Government organization or private company that issues a card that is "chipped" embeds varying amount of your information on these cards.
In US Passports, the chip stores the same information that is printed within the passport and includes a digital picture of the owner. The chips are meant to cut down on human error of immigration officials, speed the processing of visitors, and safeguard against counterfeit passports. When it comes to the new Passport ID's and PASS Cards, those are told to store only "pointer" information.
In 2009, electronic readers and displays for NEXUS identification cards are lined-up at a border crossing from Canada into the United States at Blaine, Wash. The NEXUS card, with an embedded radio frequency identification, or RFID, chip, can can be read up to 20 feet away, it's purpose is to allow pre-screened travelers expedited processing though dedicated traffic lanes between the U.S. and Canada,
Unfortunately, with all of these various Government ID's, hackers have figured out how to scan those chips too, gaining access to personal and financial data that can result in identity theft. CNN reported that some RFID chips can be read from as far as 10 feet away. To learn more about how RFID hackers can obtain electronic information from your passport, read this CNN story from their website.
To protect your passport and credit cards from unauthorized RFID scanners and potential theft of your identification, the Travelon RFID Blocking Wallet is a great solution to shield your RF information embedded on your cards, while allowing you to decide when the information should be exposed to authorized readers and the appropriate and authorized RFID locations.
More Information About RFID Blocking Wallets
RFID chips are becoming a part of our lives. RFID stands for Radio Frequency Identification Devices and they are tiny, passive radio transmitters that are placed in products to prevent theft and now in identification cards and credit cards to speed up transactions.
These passive transmitters lie dormant until activated by a nearby RFID reader that sends a strong radio current that powers them on and makes them send out their signal.
The double bars that you walk through at the department store are RFID readers and they send out a strong signal that makes the chips "speak".
In the same way gas stations have installed lower powered versions on gas pumps to read quick pay gas cards. Even Visa and MasterCard are getting into the act with RFID chips in some cards that let you swipe them near a terminal without touching it.
There have already been several cases of RFID identity theft. All a hacker has to do to build a device is look for plans on the internet and he can be stealing credit card numbers the next day.
That's where people can protect their information with the use of a RFID blocking wallet. These wallets contain a metal fiber mesh that makes a "cage" around the chip that radio waves cannot penetrate.
If you think this is all just tinfoil hat paranoia stuff you are mistaken. Chances are that right now you are walking around with a small radio transmitter on your person. If your credit card, passport or drivers license has a RFID chip your identity is at risk and you should consider doing something about it at once.
Travelon RFID Wallet Specifications:
Size: 3.5” x 4.5” x 1”
Material: 1680 D. Ballistic Nylon with Leather Trim
It’s a fairly simple concept. The electronic scanner sends a signal which is received by an antenna embedded into the card, which is connected to the card's RF chip, thus activating it.
