Commonly Asked Questions About SCRAMBLER™

A: It is a card with an embedded information 'chip' containing personal and/or financial information. It was originally conceived in an attempt to make information available faster, easier, and more secure. Chips are now common in passports, driver licenses, building entry badges, hotel door cards, gate cards, military I.D. cards, and now, almost all credit and debit cards.

A: Radio Frequency Identification chips have the ability to broadcast your personal and financial information wirelessly. It can also be used to track your location, which is why chips are very often being implanted into the bodies of pets and children. Rumors are that eventually all people will be required to have chips implanted in order to accommodate a cashless economy, eliminating the need for RFID cards. Many already do.

A: A chip contains information. For example, when you make a legitimate purchase with an RFID chip card, a 'reader' or terminal sends an interrogating signal, (also called a 'ping') to your chip. Almost all RFID chips today broadcast your personal and financial information when pinged at a 13.56 MHz (megahertz) frequency in order for the financial institution to approve or deny the transaction. 13.56 MHz is a universal frequency used by stores, banks, and hackers. The same frequency is also used by smartphones, like Apple Pay, Google Pay, Android Pay, and Samsung Pay, among others. This is why 13.56 MHz is the frequency that SCRAMBLER™ protects.

A: It is actually easier. Hackers today can ping your card using inexpensive and widely available software, and now they can do it from very long distances. They can then use that information to steal your identity and access your financial accounts, access ATMs, purchase items, open new credit in your name, create a false entry badge or hotel door card, and duplicate your chip cards.

A: The equipment needed to duplicate the chips is very expensive, placing it out of reach for smaller hackers. However, as the smaller hackers increasingly collaborate with bigger hackers, financial losses from identity theft have exploded. Some argue that these smart cards are safer for various reason, but experience seems to indicate otherwise. Some experts say it is no longer a question of IF you will get hacked, just WHEN.

A: Up until a few years ago there were very few chips. But most financial institutions began sending their customers chip cards with an activation instruction letter. If you didn't activate the chip card, usually within 30-45 days they would deactivate your magnetic stripe card rendering it useless. By 2017 the majority of credit and debit cards were chipped. Whereas just a few years ago chip cards were rare, today it is rare to see a card that is not chipped.

A: It can be difficult to tell. Most RFID smart cards have a visible chip—a four-part gold metal square on the front. Others have certain keywords or markings on them, front or back, like a cluster of triangles, for example. If you're not sure, we suggest protecting your identity. Better to be safe than sorry. Cleaning up the mess caused by hackers using your identity has been classified somewhere between very stressful to a complete nightmare.

A: Originally, hackers could walk close to your wallet with a hidden reader and steal your information while it was still in your pocket or purse. Current crowd hacking techniques allow them to sit down near or walk through a crowd with a laptop, smartphone, or tablet while broadcasting a large 'bubble' (ping area) for long distances around them. Everyone in this ‘bubble’ without identity protection can have their RFID smart card information stolen in seconds.

A: According to “Top 10 Hacker Hot Spots” the most popular target for crowd hackers are malls. Others include sporting events/tailgate parties, airports, amusement parks, coffee houses, conventions, colleges, book stores, grocery stores, and subway/train stations.

A: Your stolen information can be sold or used in any number of ways. The crook's goal is typically to make as much money as fast as possible using your stolen identity and credit. One of the most popular items that thieves can buy is gift cards, which can be sold online at a small discount. But they have also been known to buy everything from jewelry, designer purses to cars.

A: Eventually. But by then it will probably be too late for anything except damage control. You might find yourself refused for a credit purchase, or, you could start receiving calls from credit collectors. And it could take several months or years in order to straighten out your ruined credit profile. The exploding number of identity thefts is why companies that help you clean up the mess for a monthly fee have become so successful.

A: It seems they would like you to think so. But their rules can be complicated, and subject to certain laws. It may be safer to not assume that the financial institutions will automatically restore any losses, even though that seems to be what many banks and card issuers would like you to believe.

Our customers tell us that the higher the amount of the loss, the less of your money is likely to be returned.

A: No. And SCRAMBLER™ cannot be demagnetized, will not set off security portals at airports and other places, and is legal throughout the world.

A: No, but magnetic stripes do not wirelessly broadcast information.

A: Contrary to popular belief, some sleeves (a pouch that you slide your smart card into) and tin foil provide spotty or no protection in testing. Especially against today's high-powered readers. In fact, a large percentage of RFID protective wallets, bags, and purses no longer protect you at all.

A: Yes, but SCRAMBLER™ is the only device we know of that is 100% effective. Many SCRAMBLER™ knock-offs only provide limited protection at best.