RFID blocking - should i bother for my cc?

[ozliz]

HI, I have travelled all over and never bothered with a RFID blocking wallet/sleeve for my cards. My bank has now given me a card where I cannot choose not to have the tap n go/ payWave etc option. Given that I will be travelling internationally and it would be a big pain to have to stop the card without international currency transaction fees mid-trip, does anyone else bother with RFID blockers or is it just a bit of over the top paranoia?

TIA and please move to a different forum if more appropriate.

 

[ccudmore]

Snopes has some details - http://www.snopes.com/fraud/identity/pickpocket.asp

 

[Phoenixrising]

I can't stress enough how important protecting your CC and identity is. This is from someone, who 10 years ago had someone use my maiden name to rack up over $350,000 in debit. It was at the time the largest case of ID theft our local police had ever seen. It took me over 6 months to clear up the mess the fraudster left behind. I now keep permanent fraud alerts up at Transunion and Equifax, as protection. Yes the RIFD sleeves can be a bit of a pain, but I use them all the time, as you don't want to know how easy it is for someone with the technology to scan your CC without you knowing. Both DH and use the RIFD sleeves everyday as protection for our CC's. Not only for our CC's, but our bank cards as well. Really anything that has the chip in it, has one of the sleeves in it in my wallet. The RIFD's are really cheap, and you should be able to find them at any travel or luggage store. I don't consider myself to be paranoid by doing this, but being proactive about protecting my identity and my CC's from scammers.

 

[RubySue]

As pp said, the protection sleeves are inexpensive and easy to use, so why not? I'd rather be a little paranoid and prevent a problem than try to fix it afterward.