Skim Black prevents your money from being stolen wirelessly

It is really hard to imagine for people who have never heard of Near Field Communication systems (NFC), it’s basically what large companies use for security purposes, it’s a card-sized or card-thinned contactless device that can exchange data with a system via a reader (antenna). A lot of countries have started using some form of contactless payment system, the Oyster in the UK, the FeliCa/Edy in Japan, the Octopus in Hong Kong and so on. So far they have had excellent history of security, but it’s only a matter of time before hackers devise something that can steal money from you by simply touching your wallet; or what people are more concerned about would be legit readers being used by people abusing the system to steal biometric information from your NFC cards, when more and more information is being carried- your air-ticket, driver’s license, fingerprints and home address. Elecom has started selling a range of Skim Black Shield products that physically blocks the access of your NFC cards when needed. They can slid into your wallet together with the rest of your cards, or it be attached to your NFC built-in cellphones (Osaifu keitai). You can pick these up at electric appliances shops in Japan for $10 to $20 depending on model. — Sam Chan

Skim Black [Elecom]