step 1Get your materials

step 1Get your materials

Items needed:
- Spare credit/debit card with embedded RFID chip (if go to your bank and request a new card they will typically send you a new card w/ the same number and info).
- Scissors
- Cellphone
- Magic marker/ Sharpie

step 4How to kill your RFID chip

step 4How to kill your RFID chip

In this step I will describe a few ways to permanently disable or kill an RFID chip. Most products that you own that contain RFID tags belong to you, so you have the right to destroy them; however, tampering with a US passport is a federal offense. Luckily there are ways to kill an RFID tag without leaving any evidence, so as long as you are careful, it would be pretty hard to prove that you did anything illegal.


-The easiest way to kill an RFID, and be sure that it is dead, is to throw it in the microwave for 5 seconds. Doing this will literally melt the chip and antenna making it impossible for the chip to ever be read again. Unfortunately this method has a certain fire risk associated with it. Killing an RFID chip this way will also leave visible evidence that it has been tampered with, making it an unsuitable method for killing the RFID tag in passports. Doing this to a credit card will probably also screw with the magnetic strip on the back making it un-swipeable.

-The second, slightly more convert and less damaging, way to kill an RFID tag is by piercing the chip with a knife or other sharp object. This can only be done if you know exactly where the chip is located within the tag. This method also leaves visible evidence of intentional damage done to the chip, so it is unsuitable for passports.

-The third method is cutting the antenna very close to the chip. By doing this the chip will have no way of receiving electricity, or transmitting its signal back to the reader. This technique also leaves minimal signs of damage, so it would probably not be a good idea to use this on a passport.

-The last (and most covert) method for destroying a RFID tag is to hit it with a hammer. Just pick up any ordinary hammer and give the chip a few swift hard whacks. This will destroy the chip, and leave no evidence that the tag has been tampered with. This method is suitable for destroying the tags in passports, because there will be no proof that you intentionally destroyed the chip.

step 3How to block a RFID tag

step 3How to block a RFID tag

Luckily RFID tag signals can easily be blocked. This means that you will have the option to use the tag whenever you want, and prevent others from being able to read it.

The signal sent out by a RFID tag is easily blocked by metal. This means that placing the RFID tag inside of a Faraday cage will prevent the information from being read.

There are already two Instructables on how to build RFID blocking containers:

RFID Secure Wallet

Make a RFID Shielding Pouch Out of Trash

Or if you would rather spend money on something you could build, head over to Think Geek for their RFID blocking wallet and RFID blocking Passport Holder .

step 2Where can RFID chips be found

As RFID chips become cheaper, the number of devices that include them grows.

Currently there are RFID tags in:

- US passports: The RFID tag contains all the information that is written in the passport, along with a digital picture

- Transportation payments: Things like New York's EZ Pass, Florida's Sun Pass, and California's Fast Trak are all RFID based toll payment systems.

- Access control: Many buildings and schools require RFID tagged cards to be used for entry.

- Credit cards: Chase, and a few other banks, now issue credit cards embedded with RFID chips, called "blink". They are able to convince people it is an added convenience, but in reality it is a huge security risk.



There are many other devices which contain RFID tags; however, the ones listed are the most common and offer the greatest security risk.

Intermec Antenna Cell: RFID Antenna

Intermec, Inc.

With its unique, mostly metal design, the Intermec Antenna Cell is an RFID antenna specifically developed for forklift installations where shock and vibration can far exceed the specifications of antennas designed for fixed RFID reader applications. Complete with mounting hardware, Antenna Cells can be mounted with no drilling, cutting, or welding which enables fast and inexpensive installations for a single forklift or fleet deployments.

With its unique, mostly metal design, the Intermec Antenna Cell is an RFID antenna specifically developed for forklift installations where shock and vibration can far exceed the specifications of antennas designed for fixed RFID reader applications. Complete with mounting hardware, Antenna Cells can be mounted with no drilling, cutting or welding which enables fast and inexpensive installations for a single forklift or fleet deployments. Antenna Cells are available in both FCC and ETSI frequencies.

Antenna Cells leverage another new product, the Adaptable Load Backrest (ALBR), developed in partnership with Cascade Corporation, the world's leader in the design and manufacture of lift truck attachments. The Antenna Cells can be mounted into an ALBR in about a half hour, as opposed to spending a day of field engineering time, and approximately $2500 in expense, to install RFID equipment onto a forklift the "old fashioned" way.

The ALBR neatly and precisely compartmentalizes the Antenna Cells and RFID reader into areas of the load backrest that don't obstruct the operator's vision and are protected from damage. In addition, the ALBR provides built-in Antenna Cell cable routing for protection for vulnerable cables and a professional looking installation.

Antenna Cells mounted into ALBRs are flexible and configurable for quick and inexpensive reconfigurations to support changing application needs such as converting from pallet tag reading to case level reading. This modular approach enables Antenna Cells to be interchangeable for quick replacement of damaged parts lessening slow downs in a busy operation. The ALBR and Antenna Cells not only improve operator performance and safety, they also significantly reduce the time and cost of RFID forklift deployments. With the ALBR and Antenna Cells, the installation of an RFID reader and antennas no longer needs to involve labor-intensive customization of the load backrest or fork truck. Durable, reliable installations of these products should last the life of a typical forklift lease.

Antenna Cells are sold by Intermec Technologies and its distributors and partners. ALBRs are manufactured and sold by Cascade Corporation. They are built to order for specific forklift models.

RFID Car Systems: Radio Protection

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Radio-frequency identification tags use similar technology to RFIDs used in cars.

Cars with RFID security do have lower theft rates, and it makes sense. This type of system makes getting in and driving off a lot more complicated.

Keyless entry and immobilizer systems work in pretty much the same way. Let's say you have a keyless-entry fob. It's a standard radio-transponder setup: Inside is a circuit board, a radio transmitter, a battery and an antenna. When you get near your car, perhaps 5 feet to 10 feet (a few meters) away, you press the button to unlock your doors. The RFID chip in the fob sends out a code of 40 impulses broadcast on different frequencies. The corresponding RFID chip in the car receives this code and accesses the car's software to find out if the code is the right one. If it is, the doors unlock.

This is called an active RFID system, since pushing the button actively sends out the code, instead of receiving it. The immobilizer chips in ignition keys are also active. Keyless ignition, on the other hand, is a passive RFID system. Instead of the ignition chip sending out the code, the car sends out the code and the ignition chip receives it. Ignition systems have no battery (or a different kind), and they have a lower-power antenna, so they won't broadcast as far. It's an additional security measure.

On its face, the system seems impenetrable: There are billions of possible sequences, and brute force will no longer get the car moving. Add in rolling codes, which are becoming more common -- a system in which the expected sequence changes slightly every time you push the button -- and the options get closer to a trillion. But as with any security system, it's only impenetrable until thieves figure out a way around it. Look at safes and burglar alarms; you've got to update those frequently in order to stay ahead of the robbers. Car RFID systems are no different.

RFID hacking is the most high-tech approach to car theft yet. Using hardware that grabs radio frequency signals out of the air, and software that decrypts it, thieves with time on their hands can steal an RFID-equipped car. In 2005, researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland demonstrated how.