A few years ago on a bright and sunny day in Los Angeles, I went to get my nails done. In the salon afterwards I went to my ATM to get cash and I got a message that said I didn’t have enough money to withdrawal $20. What? Panic. I called my bank.
“You have a zero (or close) balance. That can’t be right, I have money in the bank, and I have my bank card on me.”
I had been electronically pick-pocketed.
At the time I didn’t even understand it. My banker asked if anyone else had access to my card? No. Had I purchased such and such at so and so location? No, and no. I had actually just returned from a wedding in Palm Springs, and I described my charges in that location. She told me that someone else had been charging things at the same time, miles and miles away, in Los Angeles. How could this have happened?
She told me about a scanning device which had the ability to “read,” and duplicate, the information on my card. Thus, the thieves were able to get my information, and I never suspected a thing because I still had my card in my possession. She said there had recently been a rash of electronic pickpocketing incidents in my area (not that that was any consolation). She said the bank would replace my money. Whew! I asked how I could protect myself in the future and, at the time, her only advice was that I should never use my PIN number, that I should only use ATMs from my bank, and I should choose the “credit” option on all other purchases.
Thankfully we have a better solution now.
Click here to find the wallet: RFID Wallet
These wallets have a built in shielding alloy that protects all of my RFID embedded cards from being electronically scanned. This is HUGE! That protection shields all of the information that may be on an RFID chip: credit card numbers, name, address, etc. While I “just” had my money stolen, the information on some cards could give thieves all they need to know to steal my identity, and that’s too scary to even contemplate!
These wallets, for men and women, go beyond a “pretty gift,” they protect our financial house as well as our person. And this time of year, when we’re rushing around among all of the other shoppers, we’re perhaps more likely to come in contact with someone who has theft on his agenda.
Think of it this way, if you wouldn’t walk around wearing a tee shirt emblazoned with your credit card number and personal information on the front, then you need one of these. It’s like your very own armored car for your cards. Happy holidays!