Contactless payment has become indispensable in everyday life. Approach the terminal card and complete the purchase in seconds, without PIN for low values, brought speed and convenience. But it also opened doors to new slopping schemes. The latest buck involves contactless cards and is already worrying experts and authorities in several European cities, because of the risk of empties accounts without the victim.
How works or contactless
According to financial entities mentioned by the Leak technology site, this technology is based on the NFC system, which allows communication between card and terminal a few centimeters away. For payments up to 50 euros, the transaction is approved automatically. Above this value, it is necessary to introduce PIN.
Although considered safe, the problem is in the way criminals can explore users’ distraction and manipulate technology for their own benefit.
The new scam of the hidden terminals
According to cybercrime experts cited by the same source, the burns use adulterated portable terminals. They are discreetly approaching the victim in busy places, such as public transport, shopping centers or events, and hide the terminal in backpacks or coats. By leaning the device to the pocket or suitcase where the card is, they can process a transaction in seconds.
Since the values are less than 50 euros, it is not requested PIN. Many times the victim only discovers the scam hours later, when consulting the bank statement.
Because this blow worries
What most alarm the authorities is the almost invisible character of the scheme. There is no physical contact, the transaction is immediate and the amounts are low, often escaping automatic bank notifications. There are also reports of burns who use technology to broaden the NFC signal range, making the blow even harder to avoid.
Cases have already been registered in London and Paris, especially in metro stations and airports. In Lisbon and Porto, they are still rare, but experts admit that it is a matter of time until they gain expression.
How to protect
There are simple measures to reduce risk. Anti-RFID wallets block the NFC signal, preventing the card reading. Another recommendation is to activate notifications for all transactions, regardless of value, and set lower limits for PIN -free payments.
It is also advisable to store cards in less affordable places and privilege digital payments on the mobile phone, which require biometric authentication.
Comfort versus security
Contactless technology is generally safe and millions of transactions happen daily without problems. Still, this new coup shared by warning: the more practical the system, the greater the opportunities for those who seek to explore it. The best defense is aware of being aware and adopting small precautions that can avoid large losses.
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