Do you know these mysterious people who wrap a bank card in aluminum foil? And I found myself still missing a tinfoil hat. With the advent of bank cards with the possibility of contactless payment, there is an opinion that an attacker can take advantage of this and pay for goods and services by bringing the terminal closer to your card. Is this really so? Let’s find out.
Initially, the cards had only a magnetic strip, and when paying, it was required to be removed from the wallet each time a payment was made. But magnetic tapes have rather weak protection and validity, and the technology is developing. Thus, chips and the possibility of contactless payment for goods and services appeared. To do this, it is enough to present the card to the terminal and it is not even necessary to touch it. This is convenient, and many do not even take the card out of the wallet or phone case during payment. At the same time, payment confirmation is requested only if the maximum agreed amount is exceeded.
Can an attacker use this method and cancel all your money from your card? For example, leaning against the terminal on a narrow bus. Or using the TPV to go to the subway, applying it to bags and backpacks. In fact, it is much more convenient than stealing cards or trying to hack them. You just need to perform the operation.
Many of you will now say that any POS terminal has a record and is linked to a specific individual with passport and TIN details during registration. And to transfer data at the time of purchase, you must be linked to the banking system. But even here it turned out that the system can be carried out. A day company is registered as a figurehead and all operations are carried out through it. In the future, when there is a search for a responsible person, it turns out to be a person without a fixed place of residence. And handed over the passport to funfyrik and signed the papers under similar conditions.
In 2017, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation recorded the first cases of attempted fraud with contactless payment cards. But for the most part, they ended in failure for the scammer, as users had limits on the maximum amount or SMS notifications about the operation.
The threat is real, so how to protect your savings from similar scams.
If you have 2 or more bank cards with the possibility of contactless payment, then you should not worry. They won’t work when they’re nearby, since the cards don’t understand which one you’re addressing. And not only bank cards are valid, but also any other with integrated antennas and adapted for contactless payment. These cards exist in supermarket chains, gas stations or even to open doors. The RFID chip is based on a non-volatile memory, which is activated when the antenna enters the operating area of the terminal.
The simplest and most effective, of course, is to get a cover that blocks the possibility of contactless payment. Card holders can be purchased online, they can be made in the form of a small bag or a hard case that protects the card from bending.
Usually on the card holders there is an inscription about protection against RFID or NFC operations. So there is a double defense here.
And finally, the most sophisticated way to keep your bank card inaccessible. And it seems that they came up with it and used it only in Russia. The simple sheet acts in a similar way to a card holder and does not transmit the electromagnetic waves emitted by the terminal to activate the antenna. That’s why even if you have a small layer of aluminum foil or foil material in your bag or backpack, the signal won’t get through. This is certainly cheaper than buying a card holder at a store, but it doesn’t look very aesthetically pleasing.
Do you know these mysterious people who wrap a bank card in aluminum foil? And I found myself still missing a tinfoil hat. With the advent of bank cards with the ability to …
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Source: IXBT
