I saw this someplace else so I thought I should share with you all here as well. Crazy thing is I told my wife about this being done when they first came out with those "pass" cards.

http://www.wreg.com/videobeta/8ba6f8...nic-Pickpocket
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The new is way behind on this. These kind of "tools" have been around longer than the RFID chips in your cards. The first thing I do when I get a passport(US) or CC is microwave it for 5sec. That kills the RFID but keep the magnetic swipe strip intact, so you can still make purchases. Same thing with the PP.
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Gotta love it. Be robbed right in front of your face. Now to stop it.
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Never thought about nuking it. Good idea.
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Any idea why that works, Mychal?
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RFID is transmitted via radio waves. When you nuke it microwave signals (yes you microwave sends out a small variant of a microwave signal :-), hence the name microwave) fries the transmitter in the RFID chip.
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Any idea if that makes using your passport more difficult?
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Only marginally so. Your passport has to be swiped rather than read via wireless.
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Seems like it would be harder to pull off then they show. Getting THAT close to someones wallet, and knowing which pocket it is in. If someone gets that close to me.....my knife is in the other pocket. The guy who has that laptop is also quite cocky "you may as well print your credit card on your T-shirt". IMO it's a very small risk and he's just trying to sell his stupid holders.
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You can get more sophisticated readers that don't need to be as close. This may become a threat but the bigger threat right now is open bluetooth connections on smart phones. There are apps available that make it very easy for people to use bluetooth to steal sensitive data such as SSNs, credit card numbers, log ins and passwords etc....

One thing to beware of in nuking your passport is it can cause the RFID tag to ignite and invalidate your passport because that would visibly indicate tampering. I don't know if it still the case but I read a number of things about that when the first ones came out.
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How long in the microwave, Jay?
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Yeah...this has been a concern for quite a few years now, ever since RFID came out in credit cards and passports. ThinkGeek has some interesting wallets to protect against this...

Wallets:

http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/gear/c5ee/

http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/security/8cdd/

Passport sleeves:

http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/security/910f/

http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/gear/a7a2/

Do these work? Well I haven't personally tested them, but I'm sure a quick google search would provide some test results.
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I just line my baseball cap with double thickness tinfoil, I'm all good. :-)
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Don't know exactly Tom. Let me do some more research on this and I'll get back to you. Try 5 sec. though like Mychal said. Anything over and you coud be melting your card.

Again let me look into some more for you brother.
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Geez that is crazy! There are some serious scumbags out there..

aj
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As our society becomes more convenient and sophisticated, so does the criminal element.

Thanks for the Heads Up.



Cheers! :-)



slack :-)
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I tried it for 30 sec with an old card and melted it pretty good. 2 sec worked for my passport and no more than 5 is needed for something completely coated in plastic.

I have never had any trouble with my nuked passport, or a CC.
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Thanks Jay, and Mychal.
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be careful...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_5UYcyO3Pg
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