Scouted: RFID-Blocking Bags and Wallets May Help Your Data Safe While Traveling
There are many acronyms floating around, but one to consider on your upcoming travels is RFID. RFID stands for radio-frequency identification. Certain products (like smartphones or credit cards) transmit electromagnetic fields that have identifiable information, according to How Stuff Works. This allows security information to be embedded within an object rather than stored on it, like a credit card, smartphone, and even your passport.
To tell if there’s an RFID chip, look to see if it has the RFID symbol. This is a set of curved bars, similar to a WiFi symbol but turned to the side. And while this helps with keeping your information safe from people that steal data the old fashioned way, the influx of RFID skimming (using a personal RFID reader to scan data from the RFID chip) to hack into people’s personal information means we need to adapt to the times. That’s where RFID-blocking technology comes in.
Bags, wallets, and other products that were made to travel have started to be made with RFID-blocking pockets. We’ve listed a few below that keep you looking good on your travels while keeping your personal information safe.