A new fraud is gaining ground and could affect anyone who uses contactless payments on a daily basis. Security experts warn of the “Ghost Tapping” phenomenon, a silent method that attempts to take money from your bank account discreetly and quickly.
An alert coming from the United States
According to technology portal 4gnews, the Better Business Bureau released a public warning about the growth of this scheme. The name of the fraud, Ghost Tapping, arises precisely because it exploits the technology used for contactless payments, such as contactless credit and debit cards, digital wallets or applications such as PayPal.
According to the organization, anyone using these methods must be careful, as criminals take advantage of the ease and speed of the system to approach victims without arousing suspicion.
For those who use their cell phone, smartwatch or card to pay bills, it is important to understand how this technique works and what the warning signs are.
The method takes advantage of NFC technology
Contactless payments use NFC, a technology that allows the exchange of information between devices that are very close to each other. This is what makes the process simple and convenient when paying in a store just by touching your card or cell phone to the terminal.
The problem is that this simplicity can be exploited. In busy places, such as public transport, shopping centers or event queues, thieves can approach a hidden card reader and try to collect data or even initiate small transactions.
In some cases, they present themselves as volunteers for charitable causes or street vendors who “only accept contactless”, creating urgency to put pressure on the victim. The true intention is to collect card data or make an unauthorized payment.
Hidden readers and fake donation requests
Cited by , the Better Business Bureau highlights two common practices. The first is the use of discreet card readers, brought closer to the victim without the victim noticing. The second involves false collections of donations, in which fraudsters hide the name of the beneficiary entity or pressure the victim to pay quickly.
Both approaches rely on physical proximity and movement of the location to go unnoticed. By the time the victim realizes, the transaction may have already been made.
The impact can range from small amounts being withdrawn from the account to the theft of data that allows for larger transactions later.
Simple measures that make a difference
Experts, cited by the same source, recommend avoiding contactless payments in crowded spaces and always keeping a safe distance from strangers when preparing to make a payment, in order to avoid this fraud.
Another useful measure is to set limits on contactless transactions. This way, any value above the usual will require additional confirmation and reduces the risk of significant losses.
It is also advisable to activate transaction alerts in your bank or financial app. Therefore, any strange movement is immediately detected.
The importance of protecting cards
For greater security, BBB recommends storing credit and debit cards in wallets with radio frequency (RFID) protection. These wallets block unauthorized reading attempts and make cloning difficult.
This is a simple way to ensure that no one collects data from your cards when you are not using them.
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