Chip and PIN – vs – SAFE® Technology

I just read an article on CardRatings.com, and learned of the (in)security of RFID credit cards.

As the article states,

RFID stands for “radio frequency identification.” In a nutshell, an RFID credit card has an electronic tag and antenna embedded that transmits the payment information to a reader. This same technology allows you to wave your gas card at the pump to earn rewards or drive through a tollbooth with your E-ZPass.

Author Jennifer Rose Hale goes on to discuss the security risks of using an RFID credit card. She mentions that it’s convenient and quick to pay with these new cards, but asks, “How secure are they really?” Anyone can buy RFID readers, and they are inexpensive. A reader can capture your credit card number in the same way the store clerk does – through radio frequency. Hale poses the question, “As you’re waving your card around, just how much should you be worrying about someone behind you – or behind the counter – secretly scanning and stealing your credit card data?”

The answer: anyone with a reader who is within 2 to 4 inches of you can steal your credit card number, and he or she has a window in which to use your numbers. “That’s because the transmission generates a unique code, which is discarded the next time you use the card.” One major positive: RFID chips don’t transmit sensitive information such as your card’s security code or your address or phone number.

Ok, so someone might have a little bit of trouble getting 2 to 4 inches from you, stealing your card information with his or her RFID reader, and then using your card in the window of time available before you make your next purchase. But, do you want to take that chance?

You won’t have to, once credit card companies implement SAFE^® Technology. You’ll be able to lock your cards immediately after using them, and unlock them right before you make another purchase. Even if someone were to steal your card information, he or she wouldn’t be able to use it. Besides locking your card, you can also request a new CVV code for every single purchase. All you have to do is send a text message via SMS and you’ll receive a new code for your card. The old one that you used for the last purchase (even if it was 10 seconds earlier) is thrown out the window. It doesn’t matter how close someone gets to you, or how long you wait to make your next purchase. No one will have access to your card but you. Combining these two features makes your card virtually fraud-proof.

In her article, Hale also points out that stores don’t want their employees to have possession of your card, even if you can watch their every move. Almost all terminals have been placed on the opposite side of the register, giving consumers the control of swiping their cards and keeping it in their hands. So, as for the security of keeping your card in your wallet, it seems to me that it’s safer to swipe it, lock it, and put it away than it is to leave it in your wallet, available to crooks to use during “spending window.”

And really… considering that the technology is named SAFE^®, how could you trust anything else?

What are your thoughts? Would you like to use a card equipped with SAFE^® Technology?