Your card details “stolen out of thin air”

             Millions of credit and debit card users could be ‘robbed by radiowave’ because of new contactless technology being brought in by banks.

            Almost 20million shoppers are now able to buy goods by simply waving their card in front of a reader at the tills, even if it is still in a wallet or a purse. But industry experts have warned that the information emitted by the cards can be stolen by fraudsters using handheld receptors that cost as little as £7 on the internet.

            It means cardholders, most of whom are given a contactless card automatically when their old one expires, can unknowingly surrender their personal bank details to a thief by simply walking past them in the street. They then have enough information to rack up huge bills at any internet shopping site that does not demand the three-digit security code on the back of the card.

The technology in the card, known as radio frequency identification (RFID), transmits bank details via its own radio signal, and is accepted in many High Street chains, including Co-op, Boots and Pret-a-Manger. It does away with the need for a customer inputting their PIN when buying goods, and was designed to reduce queues at the checkout.

            David Maxwell, a former policeman and director of RFIDprotect, a firm which specialises in protection against card fraud, said: ‘It has been a big problem in America for a while and is getting to be a big problem over here.’

Cards can be protected from RFID skimmers by being wrapped in tin foil or being kept in special foil-lined wallets. Customers should also call their banks as soon as they suspect their card is being used fraudulently.

Ron Delnevo, of independent ATM operator Bank Machine, said: ‘Nobody really wants this technology yet it is being handed down to us by the banking industry. It is putting us all at increased risk of fraud.’

Question 1. Indicate whether these sentences are true or false. Justify your answers with evidence from the text.

a) Shops need a special device to make new cards work.

b) Users must apply for these cards to their banks.

c) Fraudsters need no extra details to use the cards to purchase things.

d) People are against this type of contactless cards.

Question 2. Answer the following questions in your own words.

a)  How does this new technology work?

b)  What can customers do to protect themselves from fraudsters?

Question 3. Find a word or a phrase in the text that means the same as

a) launch (par. 1)

b) give away (par. 4)

c) finish with (par.4)

Question 4. Rewrite the following sentences without changing the meaning.

a) The technology in the card transmits bank details via its own radio signal.

Bank details  ………………………………………..

b) David Maxwell , said: ‘It has been a big problem in America for a while and is getting to be a big problem over here.’

David Maxwell said that …………………………….

c) Cards can be protected from RFID skimmers by being wrapped in tin foil.

If you ………………………………………

Question 5. Write a short essay (120-150 words) on the following topic:

“Technology does not always help us in our daily life” Do you agree?