Universal Hub offers this tidbit which is apropos of what has happened to me, i.e. your RFID chip, if it contains money, is extremely vulnerable. That is, someone with a cheap scanner can figure out your unique code, and take all your money.
It didn't happen to me with my Charlie Card. When my credit account came up for renewal, the company sent me one with an RFID chip.
Soon enough, I began to receive things in the mail I never ordered.
- Five pounds of premium coffee, plus appropriate coffeemakers and grinders
- Mystery books
- Vitamins from a "neutriceutical" company
- Subscriptions to the Disney DVD club AND Scholastic AND Baby Einstein
- Auction trades
- Stamps.com
I figured all this bogus activity started around the 2nd of February, right after I bought some breakfast at Burger King or put some money on a (seperate) Charlie Card. All of the previous charges before I reactivated the card were fine and what I expected, but soon after the RFID card got activated, the fun started.
The credit card company has been outstanding in these travails. They cancelled my previous card, and gave me a new card, and refunded my money, but the new card also has new fraud charges popping up on them as well, either previous charges from the old card, or they simply got a hold of the new card. Think of those pop-up ads with spam, and then consider every time they do pop up, you get charged for it.
The one good thing about this is that these aren't huge charges - none of them were over $50. The companies I have dealt with understand completely, and they have been very nice about closing the previous (fraudulently opened) accounts.
The lesson I learned is no matter how safe and how careful you think you are in your accounts, think again. At first, I blamed myself - I was the victim of theft, even this type of petit larceny. Then, as more things came and I was able to say, "nope, not mine, close the account" I felt good, as it gave me hope that, yes, I was a victim, but no, I wasn't going to be passive about this - this a battle that affects not just me, but many others like me. Identity theft is no joke, especially when you have to consider all the man-hours of collecting information, calling the card companies, calling the businesses to close the accounts, being ultra-vigilant about new charges, contacting your credit reporting agencies - it's a huge pain in the ass, but well worth the difference between having your good name and credit history intact and having someone on their way to Tahiti while your available credit is zero.
When I was in 7th grade at Latin Academy, I had a bully attempt to extort money from me. The kid kept on picking on me and taking my money until I got fed up enough to go to my guidance counselor. I was scared shitless, crying, fearing retribution, but once he got suspended, six other kids told the exact same story, and the person was expelled later in the year. The headmaster and assistant headmaster were proud of me coming forward, and behind the scenes, the kids were grateful that someone came forward.
It might be cool for the jerk/scammer/script kiddie who swipes your credit card numbers, but the damage can be limited or minimal if you act immediately. Being a victim of any crime merits immediate action, even if you or the person who did it think it's minor. Not every battle or war requires bullets or guns, but depends a lot on keeping your wits (not panicking) and keeping a paper trail.
