SALT LAKE CITY — While there are several reasons you don’t want to be Ebenezer Scrooge this Christmas, consider this reason: no one wants a visit from any ghosts, whether they’re from Christmas past, present or future.
That’s why you’ll want to look out for one of the latest scams: ghost tapping.
Software company McAfee defines ghost tapping as a form of contactless fraud where someone attempts to initiate a “tap-to-pay” transaction without your approval.
Many of us will be tapping our cards or phones at the register quite a bit as we do that holiday shopping, but on our own terms. But ghost tappers aren’t asking for permission.
“They sign up to become a merchant with false information and they get a device capable of tap and pay and they just bump into you and steal your money,” said Brian Ledbetter with GuidePoint Security. “If they can get within, say, four centimeters of your payment card, they can charge your credit card as a merchant.”
Ledbetter says this usually happens in high-traffic areas, like a farmer’s market or festival. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen in more intimate settings, but the more people around, the greater the risk.
When it happens, it may be easy to miss.
“In a lot of cases, they’re smaller charges that happen just because the cybercriminal wants to know if your card will actually work, and then they go an extra step to reuse that information to steal money,” said Ledbetter.
If you don’t want these criminals to jingle all the way to the bank with your money, a good practice after a day of shopping or being around crowds would be to check your bank statements.
“If you see all these fraudulent charges racking up on your credit card statement, just call and have them reissue a card, and in a lot of cases, if you’re using your credit card and not your debit card, you’ll be able to get your money back,” said Ledbetter.
Ledbetter reminds everyone that this is the time of year to be on alert for anyone who approaches you asking for donations using a tap device.
“Maybe they’re legitimate, but it’s strange that they just approached you that way," he said. "Ask how you can go and pay. 'Do you have a website that I can go to?' And if that’s the case, you still have to be vigilant because it could be a malicious website."
There are ways to physically protect your card while you’re out and about. One is called an RFID sleeve. It’s built with aluminum inside the sleeve to protect the transfer of information from your card to a tap pay device. They’re inexpensive and can be bought from several online retailers.
