BMO Forcing RFID Chips On Me

Today's mail came with a nasty surprise.
A "new improved" debit card! With a shiny little "Microchip"

I called their 1-800 number, the poor girl on the other end kept blabbering about how it was more secure ("If your card gets compromised, you can just change the pin" Excuse me, isn't that how we deal with it NOW?)

I asked her what kind of chip it was.
"It's a microchip"
Yes but what is it CALLED
"Well, it's just....it's just called a microchip"

She put me on hold to figure out what KIND of chip it was.
Not a single person knew, according to her. It wasn't information that they give to emloyees, or even managers.

That's why I found blogs about it being an RFID chip, right? Because it's some secret information?

The letter told me my old card will be invalid after 60 days. So basically, I either never use my bank account ever again, or I carry this thing around. My plan is to ignore it. Not use debit again I guess. I have to activate this one before my old one dies, but I don't use my card much anyways I suppose.

Opinions? Suggestions on what I can scream into the phone to make them let me use my old card? I'm pretty sure I already got put onto the crazies list today.


(sorry if this is in the wrong forum, I couldn't figure out which one seemed more appropriate)

RESIST...If everyone stops using them then they will stop making them.
Change Banks or Use cash

actually that does sound crazy that they put a chip on your debit card....ive got one on my military ID card but thats mormal for us lol but yea you should def check that out

reply to post by BiohazardsBack

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The plan is for the economy to be crashed, enacting a "new secure" measure to protect your finances.

This will be the Amero.

Meanwhile, back on the ranch everyone just got kicked out of due to foreclosure, a cashless society is one step closer to becoming a reality.

That one is not an RFID chip (or at least it shouldn't be)... Basically it's an alternative to the magnetic strip - that strip was very easy to clone, you could buy card readers off the net, skim a victims card and make your own copy, then you raid the account for all it's worth before anyone realises - literally 13 year old kids can do it!

The chip is just the technology updated - it's still not %100, but it is an improvement, harder to clone, I think the data is actually encrypted now as well, which it was not on the magnetic strip.

RFID would be a VERY bad idea for a debit card, you wouldn't even have to get your grubby mits on the actual card... Just be in range with the proper scanning tech.

reply to post by BiohazardsBack

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Go back to cash! It has been a difficult transition for me! You will be surprised how inconvenient it has become to use cash, but it will be freeing for you!

Plus, if enough of us do this, we can lift some of the stranglehold the banks have. Bartering would be preferable, but it is hard to barter with the night clerk at the 7-11 for some gas!

Throw that card away, and withdraw whatever cash you need from the bank once a week. Leave the balance as small as possible, don't let them leverage your money into anything!

a)most banks in Canada have this now apparently
b)it is the only place I can bank for free.
I just told her I wouldn't use it, but to be honest, to get cash I would have to go to the ATM and - guess what? - Use this card. I do try to use cash whenever possible, but I just got a job where I get cheques. I will have to drag my butt and my card to the bank to deposit it, then withdraw. I wonder if they'll let me deposit cheques just knowing the account number? I have done some int'l transactions online so I have all the routing #s and everything.


These are RFID chips as far as I can tell. There are plenty of sites about it.
The reader problem is one of dozens of reasons I'm angry about this. The lady on the phone wouldn't say a thing about how RFID chips can be read from afar without anyone noticing. There have ALREADY been people using those readers and using the info on it.

Aha, but I NEED the card to withdraw cash! That is the problem. We don't use bank books any more, mine has been out of the picture for years.
I would still need my card for other things too. You'd be surprised how people react to a teenager trying to buy a $1000 computer in cash.
I can't even use a $50 bill, nobody will take them from me, they think it's fake haha!

it is most likely the new RFID chips

and YES they are super easy to hack into with a 10$ scanner

YouTube Link

Read em and Weep.

reply to post by BiohazardsBack

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I'm not surprised, I am 35 and it is still difficult for me to use cash. Pre-paying for gas is my pet peeve!

The good news is, even if RFID is in this card, it is not connected to you personally. They can't track you, or GPS you, or anything like that. RFID technology is only good for a few feet. Even larger chips used in warehouses are only good for a couple of hundred feet.

So, you can use the card if you must, but my advice is to stick with cash as much as possible! I don't even deposit my money to the bank if I can help it. Most employers require direct deposit, but I just go to the bank on payday and take my money out! I leave around $100 or so in there, but no more.

Simple. RFID works on Radio Frequency, hence the acronym. Play around with it at a walmart or a door scanner or some place that has an RFID reader. Try wrapping the card in differant materials like aluminium foil or copper mesh (usually available from a hobby store). Once you find something that works, make an envelope for your card and keep it in there.

I would do the same thing myself if I ended up with a card like that. The reason is not because of NWO or whatever... I just don't want an electronic pick pocket to sneak up behind me with a scanner and read my card info without even touching me.

Well actually TD gave me a bank card with a chip in it too. Me being nosy, I asked what the chip was for. The lady told me that it is safer then the magnet strip. Apparently the magnet strip is easier to duplicate then the chip. It would take some time for the guys, if ever, to figure out how to duplicate it.

I wouldn't really be worried about it.

reply to post by Equinox99

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Hmm.. the only way that this is secure is if they are still using a CVV2 number that is printed on the card and NOT encrypted on the chip. Otherwise, who cares about cloning the card, I'll go online and buy.

reply to post by rogerstigers

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Well in Canada there have been a string of frauds, so the people pushed for action. At one point they found someone with thousands of fake cards. All they needed were the PIN# and the information on the card. They used machines in different stores with people who were in on it, and they also used machines to duplicate the cards.

This chip prevents duplication. Instead of sliding the card in the magnet strip, they use a push-in opening on the machine.

Considering the new ones can be used on special machines that do not require you to swipe. You just press the card against the reader..it's an RFID chip or some variation. Several other canadian banks have them also and the local walmart has a swipe and a press spot on the interact machine now.

There actually a site that makes RF blocking wallets and billfolds. www.thinkgeek.com...
Its not a perfect solution but it will help some.

Western European financial institutions converted to chip and pin cards years and years ago. I'm surprised to read this is only just happening in N. America.

Boys and girls at cambrige university (UK) were cloning them back in 2007
www.computerweekly.com...

Even some of the old eastern bloc countries have been chip and pin for over 3 years.

Perhaps N. America is just catching up with the technology. Who knows, you may even get to the metric system eventually

[edit on 10/7/09 by RogerT]

Well, we have had debit cards that use pins forever, then the credit cards got chips + needed to type in pins. That even makes sense as it actually IS more secure. Harder to guess someone's PIN than forge their signature.

Now though, this debit card which I ALWAYS had to use a PIN for, is now adding a chip for absolutely no reason.

Oh, and Canada uses metric

I have had one in mine for about a year now and nothing nefarious with it other than I swear I get 10 times more advertising and automated telephone calls to try and get me to buy crap. That I hate and find to invasive. It helps if your card is ever stolen in tracking the culprits down easier.

Its not an RFID chip - those arnt visible - they are embeded in the card - the UK tube uses them in Oyster cards and I think many of the US states have similar systems now. You wouldnt even know if you had one - for instance Gillette tried them in the packaging for the Mach 3 Razor. What you have is the alternate to the old mag stripe so things like "chip and pin" work.

Having had a card cloned on the old system Im a lot happier with the mew ones - and given one of my clients makes them and they pay their bills I hope a lot more people get them!

FWIW you can embed an RFID chip in a note and you wouldnt even know - same for a coin - think about that

(added some info in the edit)


[edit on 10-7-2009 by Silk]