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How to Protect Your Identity With an RFID Blocking WalletHow to Protect Your Identity With an RFID Blocking Wallet

If you travel internationally, protect your IDs with an RFID blocking wallet. If you're like most people, chances are you carry a significant number of cards in your wallet that contain confidential information. In the past, your greatest worry was someone pickpocketing your wallet or running off with your purse. However, these days, physical theft does not have to happen for thieves to get a hold of your most private information. Most identification cards now contain a tiny microchip known as RFID - Radio Frequency Identification - that can be subject to electronic pickpocketing via remote scanning. Wallets that block RFID signals can help protect you.

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1
Gather all identification cards that you normally carry in your wallet or purse. Items that probably contain an RFID chip include driver's license, credit or debit cards, health insurance cards, and any smart cards or transportation cards including passports.

2
Decide how many and which types of slots or pockets you will need for your RFID blocking wallet, based on the number and type of ID cards you normally carry.

3
Purchase an RFID blocking wallet from a reputable company. You might consider brands such as ID Stronghold, which claims to offer 100-percent complete protection; Stewart Sand, which offers a women's and men's line of stainless steel RFID-blocking wallets and purses; DIFRWear, which sells an assortment of RFID-protected leather wallets; or Kena Kai's patent-pending DataSafe technology security wallets.

4
Place each RFID card in each slot of the wallet, being careful not to open your blocking wallet in public places unless you have purchased it from a manufacturer whose technology protects individual slots.

Warnings

* Make sure that each card slot or pocket of a wallet is individually capable of blocking RFID - not all blocking wallets guarantee protection for each slot when you open your wallet.

* Not all RFID blocking wallets offer the same level of protection - so don't assume that just because some are made of hard metal that they will offer better protection. The technology is what's important.