Ignore regular pickpockets – thanks to technological innovation now a new breed of frauds is about to take flight – it’s called e-pick pocket

E-pick pocketing allows criminals secretly scan a back pocket or handbag to read information off credit card equipped with RFID (Radio Frequency Identification Technology).

A recent incident at Memphis demonstrated how. In the report, a man using a card reader and netbook computer was able to wander up to a number of people and engage in credit card “skimming,” as it’s called. He picked up credit card numbers, names and expiry dates for random passersby, none of whom he actually touched.

However, according to Snopes, the device doesn’t let the thief steal the CVV number, reports the Discovery News. And because this credit card scam does not steal the actual card, just the information on the card, it’s useless if it can’t be used at an e-retailer like Amazon.

The American federal government, however, has known about it for years. That’s why many government employees have to wear a special “jacket” for their federal government IDs. And there are security sleeves you can purchase, like these from Identity Strong, which prevents card readers from getting the information encoded in RFID chips.