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As described in the Jscotty's Credit/Debit Card Decoy idea [link],
credit/debit cards with RFID technology being read remotely
without your knowledge is a security concern. To avoid your card
being read without your knowledge, 2 security features should be
added. One would be that the RFID chip's
circuit would not be
closed unless you were holding the bottom right corner. By holding
that corner, the RFID's circuit would be closed and the card could be
read. This could be achieved either by pressure or using the finger's
conductivity. The second feature would be for the card, or one area
of the card to glow when it is being read, making you aware of the
fact.
Most people, it seems, would prefer to authenticate their credit cards with thumbprints
http://www.informat...prints-to/227900056 [DrCurry, Jan 21 2013]
[link]
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The push-button is a good idea. With luck, a pair of
interdigitated gold contacts would be enough -
they'd use conductivity through skin to operate,
rather than needing a button as such. Not so sure
about the glow - you'd either need an onboard
battery, or else the reader would have to supply
power inductively. |
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Related note: about a year ago I got an Amex Blue Sky card, and it had a very visible RFID chip imbedded in the plastic. I just got a new card and noticed that the RFID chip is gone. Maybe they did that for security reasons or maybe it was to save money, but I have never used the RFID feature anyway. |
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I think the push button would be doable. I doubt that conductivity through skin would be doable without power. |
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Skin conductivity varies wildly. |
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Maybe detecting skin via capacitive changes would be feasible. |
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//I doubt that conductivity through skin would be
doable with power. // |
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I disagree. There are plenty of device families with
very, very low input currents. Skin conductivity
would be more than enough to pull such an input
high (or low). |
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The idea sounds like a good improvement to the security of RFID. I agree with [MaxwellBuchanan] about the conductivity sensing, but I might suggest the two contact be on opposite sides of the card. That way a build-up of dirt/oil, or placing it on a conductive object is less likely to leave it activated. |
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I wouldn't want presure or capacitive activation since those would be too easy to accidently activate inside a wallet. |
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Of course, if I have to go to the bother to pull it out of my wallet far enough to touch or pinch the corner, it's not that much more bother to stick it in the card reader. I like this idea for other RFID applications, but I'd rather have a wired connection to a smart card or a wireless system through a smart phone that can have more sophisticated security. |
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Make it a little more sophisticated, and you could ensure that it is the owner's thumb activating the card. |
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I wouldn't worry about security so much anyway. The credit card industry certainly does not. |
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Today, any waiter at any restaurant can easily write down your credit card number and mail order to their hearts content, sending to an abandoned house. |
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Card companies just make up for it by eating the loss and making the money back in interest rates. |
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[K101] yes, it's a sad and dangerous world we live on. So, let's just get rid of those easy to read numbers and add my features anyway :-) |
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[DrCurry], I think these are two separate issues. One is if the card should be readable at all times or only with user intervention (that's what I'm proposing). The second is the user authentication method. I would also prefer to have fingerprint authorization instead of the PIN. I think that the signature process is laughable. |
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Most people don't do so, I think. Most people are findable online pretty easily, if they have an even slightly unusual name. |
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Good reason to name your kid John Smith. |
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21 quest, your supposed to open it upright. (I own
one too) |
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hold it down low, look it in the clasp, and open. lol I
don't use cash so I like it. |
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And it doesn't flex in your pocket when you sit on it |
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I have a duct tape wallet, and all the pockets are lined with aluminum foil between the inner and outer pieces of duct tape. The foil does the same thing as alumawallets in terms of RFID reader blockage, and it's flexible! And I used my uncle's hydro-dip tank to put a picture of a fennec fox on it! :3 |
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