Steal a credit card: No hands necessary

Have you heard of the "smart card"? It's a credit card that's enabled with a "smart chip" which utilizes RFID technology to transmit your credit card information to a checkout terminal. The cards are supposed to save time and improve security.

It sounds cool, doesn't it? It is... except it now means that someone can steal your credit card information without ever even touching that card. If they get close enough to you with a device created to steal the information transmitted by the smart chip, your identity and information can be compromised.

Credit card companies say that their cards with the chips are secure and consumers shouldn't be worried. I'm not so sure, and I think I'll take a pass on the chip-enabled cards for now. I really don't need identity thieves to have one more way to steal my credit.

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.