Don’t like that passport chip? There are plenty of suggestions online by those who don’t like the idea of having an electronic chip that could be compromised. Some suggest microwaving your passport to deactivate the chip (although at least one user warned that the chip’s metal could cause microwave sparking.) Others suggest taking a hammer to the passport’s backside, smashing the chip.
If your chip is disabled, intentionally or not, your passport is still valid, even if it’s singed or a little beat up.
But it’s not a good idea, security officials say. “I don’t recommend microwaving a passport. Leave the chip there,” said Hardy, who recently started a new company, CardKill.com, that helps credit card companies identify stolen credit cards and deactivate them instantly.
When traveling, Hardy uses an RFID-shielded wallet that he bought at a hacker convention. “It means that anybody who tries to pull the signal won’t make it through. It’s like insulation.”
U.S. passport officials say it’s illegal to tamper with a passport’s chip, even if the intent is not fraudulent. It’s a criminal offense to “alter” a passport and could lead to penalties. According to the Bureau of Consular Affairs, “Any degradation of the passport book may lead to invalidation of that book.”
Some consumers figure it’s just easier to stick a credit card or passport in a fraud-proof case, just in case. Travel companies, for instance, offer “RFID-shielded” wallets or tiny cases like those used to carry business cards, often containing aluminum. Companies like REI sell thin, waterproof RFID-blocking sleeves – $6.50 for three – that are intended to protect credit and debit cards.
Several years ago, a Consumer Reports writer described making her own RFID-proof case using duct tape and aluminum foil.
For veteran traveler Levitsky, once her credit card and passport are chipped, she plans to keep them encased in a protective cover.
“Why would I want to be sitting on a (travel) bus and give it all away?” she said. “Bad guys are out there.”
WHAT’S IN A CHIP?
Many credit cards and U.S. passports have embedded chips, but they operate differently. Here are some details:
CREDIT CARDS
Until recently, most U.S. credit cards were issued with a magnetic stripe on the back, which contained your individual account information. Now, major credit card providers American Express, Visa, MasterCard and Discover are requiring financial institutions and retailers to switch to microchipped credit cards, which use encryption technology to protect the card’s data. The technology is known as EMV, for Europay, MasterCard and Visa, who created the global microchipped payment system.
Why? Widely used in more than 80 countries, credit cards with microchips are harder to counterfeit than magnetic stripe cards. Because the account information is encrypted, the cards are considered safer when used for point-of-sale payment transactions. The chip appears as a small square on the front of the credit card.
When: U.S. card issuers and retailers face an October 2015 deadline to have microchipped credit cards and readers in place. If not, stores and banks could be on the financial hook for fraudulent losses due to use of magnetic stripe cards. Ahead of the deadline, a number of major banks, like CitiBank, already offer microchipped cards to customers.
