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 You thought it was just computer hackers that could get your info, right? What about the man walking past you on the subway? That’s right, now all someone has to do is walk past you to get your credit card info. They do this with a portable card reader. These are designed to be carried in a wallet or purse and they have an electromagnetic head that reads information from a magnetic strip of a card or information is read from the card by an array of Hall sensors. Signal pulses are used to record your credit card information, which can be read using the computer software of a conventional card reader. Sounds like its straight out of star wars, but the reality is it is happening more and more everyday. How would your protect yourself from this? First, make sure that your credit cards are kept inside purses or wallets; never just put them in your pocket unprotected. Second, pay with cash at restaurants. Why? Because there is a more common gadget called a credit card skimmer that is commonly occurs in restaurants; this is where the card owner looses contact with the card and a purchase is made. It takes about two seconds to scan a card through a portable reader, and the reader records all of the information on the credit card. Portable card readers are small enough that someone could easily conceal one in the pocket, sleeve, and even in their hand. Occasionally thieves will setup more complex skimming devices at ATM machines, or gas stations, but restaurants are statistically proven to be the highest risk for skimming. These devices can be easily bought in the black market, and they are virtually impossible to track who stole your information. The devices carry almost no legal penalty, yet there is no logical reason anyone should own one (except to commit identity theft). Portable magnetic readers like this can read credit cards, driver’s licenses and any other card that uses a standard magnetic stripe. Our advice? Never let go of your card, and always keep it protected. And make sure that you are signed up for some form of credit monitoring, so that if your identity is stolen you can get your life back as quickly as possible. Published: Wednesday 3rd of September 2008 05:56:57 PM For more information on credit cards and related topics, please see our library of articles. 
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