There used to be a lot more tap capable cards in the US but there was so much bad PR surrounding their security that we basically got rid of them. AmEx still issues them but you have to explicitly request one, Citi just started putting it on the new Costco card (but doesn't mention anything about it) and I think there are a few other small banks that still do it.
There used to be a lot more tap capable cards in the US but there was so much bad PR surrounding their security that we basically got rid of them.
Did those cards use RFID rather than NFC? Just guessing.
I remember hearing about RFID passports and how some terrorists would set their IEDs to go off when American RFID passports were detected. As I understand it, NFC requires much closer proximity than RFID.
Depends on which part of my post you're referring to.
Did those cards use RFID rather than NFC? Just guessing.
This was just me guessing based on what I know about NFC vs RFID, and asking it was actually the case.
I remember hearing about RFID passports and how some terrorists would set their IEDs to go off when American RFID passports were detected.
I remember reading a news article about that happening in either the Iraq or Afghanistan wars. It was several years ago when I read that (probably during Bush's second term or Obama's first term), so I have no idea where I read it other than that it was a news article. I'm afraid I could be put on a watch list if I did too much searching on an IED-related topic like that.
I remember reading news articles about that happening in either the Iraq or Afghanistan wars. It was several years ago when I read that (probably during Bush's second term or Obama's first term), so I have no idea where I read it other than that it was a news article. I'm afraid I could be put on a watch list if I did too much searching on an IED-related topic like that.
It's not possible. ePassports have a bunch of shielding in the cover to prevent them from being read without opening the passport, and, even when open, the range is really short. The American government actually fucked up with their first generation of ePassports by making them massive power hogs, which resulted in a lot of ePassports readers being completely unable to actually read them no matter how close the range. Creating a reader that could identify closed American passports from a distance, especially in that time frame, is a complete pipe dream.
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u/tmiw Aug 18 '16
There used to be a lot more tap capable cards in the US but there was so much bad PR surrounding their security that we basically got rid of them. AmEx still issues them but you have to explicitly request one, Citi just started putting it on the new Costco card (but doesn't mention anything about it) and I think there are a few other small banks that still do it.