Subway Crime Victim Warns of Bank Card Vulnerability

Last week, a Beijing resident fell victim to a pickpocket and had USD 300 taken from his bank account. Yet his bank card remained in his possession all the time.

The thief scanned his card, most likely on a crowded subway, and then used the details to make an expensive purchase. “Alex” spoke to us to warn others about the potential vulnerability of bank cards to this sort of high-tech theft (we agreed not to use his real name to prevent criminals from making further use of his personal details.)

The scanners target RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) chips. That’s the technology which allows you to use your card by waving it in the proximity of a detector. It also means anybody with the right device can hack into your card and then clone it, which is what happened to Alex.

American cards are particularly vulnerable because they often don’t have the additional security of a PIN (Personal Identification Number). Fortunately for Alex, his mother checks his US bank account regularly and spotted the unusual transaction. At the time of writing, Alex was waiting to hear from his bank about whether he would be able to reclaim any of the loss. He told us that he hadn’t notified the police in Beijing because “these things rarely get resolved with the police, even in the US.”

These things rarely get resolved with the police, even in the US.

So how can you protect yourself from being similarly targeted? The radio signals from RFID are blocked by metal. Lining your wallet with aluminum foil will (genuinely) help, but only means that the scanner has to be closer to you. It’s possible to buy RFID protection wallets and sleeves from Taobao, but even here you can be conned; the cheaper ones are little more effective than ordinary foil.

The safest solution is to avoid carrying cards without PIN protection unless it’s absolutely necessary.

Photo: VideoBlocks

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