They can be "pinged" in your wallet, and made to broadcast your credit card number from as much as 25 feet away, by someone walking past you in the mall or on the sidewalk with a device available online costing less than $50.
Apparently, the rotating PIN system that is supposed to make them fraud proof only kicks in at a particular amount. So, small transactions CAN be done on YOUR credit card by a stranger walking past you.
Additionally, your credit card information which your chip-equipped card itself broadcasts like a radio can also be used at any on-line site not requiring the old 3 digit security code.
And now for the big one: There is no PIN, and no limit except for a one million ($1,000,000.00) transaction limit, on foreign currency transactions. So, a passerby scanning your card inside your wallet inside your pocket with his little $50 pinger bought on-line can purchase thousands of dollars in British pounds sterling or French francs with your credit card -- and then you get the bill.
What is the protection? Your card in a paper envelope in an aluminum foil wrapper -- a "Faraday cage." The paper between the card and the aluminum foil protects the still ubiquitous magnetic strip on one side and the chip on the other side from damage.
Not such a wondrous piece of technology.
And, note well, this isn't MasterCard's fault.
ALL chip cards with ALL credit card providers
have the problem. Blame it on your elected officials.
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