[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by daniel200

I would like to clarify a point. The chip on your card IS encrypted.

The magnetic strip on your card is plain text and NOT encrypted in any way. (Most european cards stopped using the magnetic strip many years ago)

The magnetic strip “swipe” is not encoded …and hackers can steal your card info easily …. this is common at the gas pump or standalone nonbank cash machines when you swipe using a “Skimmer” device attached to the machine (these devices have been found on Wawa pumps in The Villages)

RFID sleeves can provide some protection. To steal your magnetic strip data a hacker must be within 2 to 3 feet of your card. For example sitting at the airport terminal, the guy next to you can read your card with the right hardware. Or they can just attach the hardware (the hardware can be very small) under a chair and then collect data as different people use the chair

If you are thinking that you want an RFID sleeve, I would recommend purchase of a new wallet that has RFID blocking built into the wallet.

My advice: Never swipe your card if at all possible (because its not encrypted). Use apple pay or the chip … Apple pay is most secure and the chip transaction is encrypted and also very secure.

The magnetic strip is not the RFID signal that tap-to-pay uses.

I’ve not seen any information that the magnetic strip can be read from 2-3 feet away. I doubt that is the case and would be interested in reading an article about that.