RFID Skimming:
Wireless pickpockets are now using special antennas to steal your identity from up to several hundred meters. This lens is for the purpose of making the Internet public aware of this new threat to everyone's identity.
<== Standard PayWave contactless reader supplied by credit card companies.
RFID Cloning in Sacremento:
What is a RFID Skimming operation?
Skimmers can go into night clubs, busy shopping malls and sports arenas. From there, the Skimmer is in a target-rich environment.
A hardware skimming device with a small antenna can be hid in the Skimmer's hand and ported to a PDA. Once the data has been collected, the Skimmer goes back to their evil liar (read parents basement) and decodes that information.
Larger skimming operations can use specialized antenna to harvest the data from up to 2 kilometers away. A van can be parked near a highway during rush hour and commuters MiFare cards, credit cards, library cards and door passes can be harvested remotely.
What it takes to build a skimmer:
This list is provided for educational purposes only, don't try this at home!
Many criminal identity theft operations are "going wireless". With the right skimmer, an operator can get started harvesting identities.
- 1 Mid-level electronics Geek with an average skill set.
1 200 feet of copper wire
1 Basic Breadboard
1 small project enclosure
1 resistors, capacitors, etc.
2 hours of googling everything you
need to do the rest.
What is RFID?
This is a great Wiki Radio Frequency Technology and how it works.
Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is the use of an object (typically referred to as an RFID tag) applied to or incorporated into a product, animal, or person for the purpose of identification and tracking using radio waves. Some tags can be read from several meters away and beyond the line of si...
RFID books on Amazon
Great starter books:
Spychips: How Major Corporations and Government Plan to Track Your Every Purchase and Watch Your Every Move
Amazon Price: $10.88 (as of 11/12/2009) 
ID Theft Poll:
Final Thought...
Next week I will be adding some links to services that will help protect you from the plague of identity theft.
Thank you.
Identity Theft News Feed (RSS)
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LuckyLiberty wrote
Lots of really good information on here. Did you know that there is a device made in the USA that a friend of mine bought that stops RFID skimming? I think it's called the Armadillo Dollar. With the new driver's licenses coming out with RFID to monitor us, I am definitely going to get one!
Posted December 20, 2007
