I am sharing the following information with you guys because I want to assist you from having your credit card info stolen and used without your permission. Ignore it at your own peril.

Recently my bank completed a merger with another bank. As the final stage of the merger, new Visa check cards were issued. When I received my new card I noticed the following logo on the upper right corner of the front of the card:

Here is a partial photo of the front of my card:

Upon reading the paperwork included with the new card, I am taught that this logo represents “payWave” technology and allows me to pay for items without swiping my card wherever I see the logo. You can also go to Visa’s website and use a locator by zip code to find merchants that have payWave kiosks. I can simply wave my wallet over the reader during checkout and it picks up the RFID info wirelessly transmitted by my card and completes the transaction. In an innocent world, that is a neat idea. But since we’re a far cry from an innocent world, I immediately worked on remediating this gigantic breach of personal security. It is hard enough to protect myself without walking around transmitting my credit card info everywhere I go. Below I will describe ways to mitigate this risk.

With Visa it is called “payWave.” MasterCard calls it “PayPass” and Amex also puts it into their cards but I’m not familiar with the moniker they gave it. What ticks me off the most is that I didn’t want to be merged with this new bank, and so therefore this card [and the incredible breach of security it represents] was foisted upon me.

There are several ways one can go about reducing or altogether eliminating having your card info stolen by a hacker with a RFID reader that happens to walk by you when you’re out in public. Visa claims you must be within 2″ of the card with a reader, but hackers have proven with beefed up antenna on their scanner they can read cards from across a room (up to 30′ away for the RFID passports). I’ll list the ways in order from risk reduction to complete risk elimination.

1. Make a foil pocket that absorbs the signal; this is also known as a Faraday Cage. I opted for this because I was in a pinch and needed to activate the card and was not able to implement option 2 due to it being a weekend. If for some reason you think this technology is useful and want to keep it on hand here’s what you do. Take a sheet of aluminum foil, (say, 12″x 6″) fold it in half and put a nice crease on the 12″ edge. It should now be ~12″ x 3″. This creased edge will become the opening where you put your card in. Take some sort of tape, I used clear 2″ packing tape but most any tape will suffice, and completely cover one side of the 12×3 foil. This will become the inside of the pocket. Then using your card as a template, fold the thing around your card several times with the taped side of the foil , probably about 2 layers on each side of the card. Leave the top 3/16″ or so of the card sticking out so it is easy to grab from your wallet. Don’t fold it super tight around the ends or it will be nearly impossible to pull your card out. Snug will do. Trim the bottom non-creased edge so that you have about 1/4″ to 1/2″ hanging out passed the bottom edge of the card. Fold it over and then wrap the whole thing a few times with tape for durability. When done it will ideally look something like this:

And another shot:

I took this to McDonald’s (which have payWave readers inside) and my graceful assistant Anna tested it out. Trial one: with card in sleeve, inside wallet, try to get it to read: it wouldn’t scan. Trial two: pull card and sleeve out and try to scan: it wouldn’t scan! Trial three: take card out of sleeve and scan: it scanned and paid for our “food.”

So there you have it, proof of concept that a foil hat for your check/credit card really does work and it cost me about 3min and 10 cents of common household supplies.

2. This is the option I would have gone for had I not been activating this thing on a weekend. CALL YOUR BANK AND DEMAND A NEW CARD WITHOUT RFID CHIPS. I called this afternoon and politely told them I do not appreciate this technology and that I want a new card without the payWave crap. The guy forwarded me to their dept that deals with issuing replacements for stolen or lost cards and the lady disabled payWave. I was only marginally pleased because while payWave may not complete a transaction, the RFID in my card is still active and trasmitting my Name, Card #, Exp. date. Whether payWave works or not, that info is still useful if a thief used it online or cloned a card. This news from the bank was better than nothing, albeit disappointing. I ended the call. Not 2min later she called back to notify me that by her disabling payWave, the system will auto-generate a new card for me WITHOUT RFID IN IT and I should expect it next week. Sweet! You see, I could just use option #1 above, or the next option #3, but unless people call their banks and demand NO BIG BROTHER in their card, then the banks must assume people like this crap and then they’ll move onto the next step in this slippery slide and start pushing RFID implants or something just as heinous. Let them know you will not use it and you’ll switch banks if that is what it takes!

3. This option is the most drastic, but probably easier than option 1 or 2. This involves destruction of the chip. There are several ways to do it, use your imagination. First, locate the chip. I wasn’t sure if I could even do it, but then upon looking at the card from an angle, you can clearly see where they put it. Check it out:

All you need to do is run a drill bit, nail, screw, etc through the chip 4 or 5 times. Even better, take a hole punch and just punch the damn thing out. CAUTION: MAKE SURE NOT TO DAMAGE THE MAGNETIC STRIP OR THE WHOLE CARD IS TRASHED.

As I said, option 3 is the easiest, but in my opinion is only an option for when banks later on will not give you a card that is chip free and there are no other banks that offer chip free cards. Hopefully if enough people make a stink about it by using option #2, banks will not push it upon us all. More info is all over the web about how people have been burned. A comical approach by a company named Identity Stronghold is this commercial. They are innovative, but in my opinion $5 + s/h for a paper and foil sleeve is highway robbery. The banks ought to supply these for free. In fact, I am sure they will once enough people have been scammed and the insurance companies are sick of paying claims. Anyway, here’s the video:

If the following doesn’t scare you into action, wow. Video: How to hack RFID-enabled credit cards for $8:

I just wanted to send a reminder to those of you that read this blog to remember to pray for our nation. We need prayer desperately and only YOU can help! We need to unite as believers and help reshape our country. God has a plan and we definitely need to seek His will but he does hear prayers. He will listen to the multitude and maybe even retreat from His wrath IF we pray and confess our sins and ask for forgiveness and guidance.

I love this little way to remember HOW to pray…

P – Praise. Thank God for what He has already accomplished through Jesus.

R – Repent. Confess your sins and shortcomings. Repent personally and on behalf of our nation.

A – Ask. Ask God to reveal truth, turn our hearts back to Him and bring healing.

Y – Yield. Yield to the Lord and recognize He has heard our prayers and will answer according to His will.

For me personally, I believe the family is at the root of many of the problems we face today. There are so many split families, families living on dual incomes so the children are left to fend for themselves, homosexual families, violent families, etc… I believe if we can find the true meaning of “family” that God intended and start living His word, our nation would have its socks blessed off. Seriously. God wants to bless us! He wants us to come to Him and live as His children! Please ponder this verse when you are praying tomorrow.

“If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.” Mark 3:25

Very simple verse but oh so true. Again, please take the time to really meditate on God’s word and pray for our families, government, the Church, our military, the media, education, and business. These are all so closely intertwined and when one falls, they all fall.

Remember God does hear the prayers of His people and WILL answer according to His will! Have faith in this statement – for it is in His word!

Family & Friends:

Just a quick reminder that tomorrow is primary election day in Indiana. It is each of our duty as free citizens to make decisions tomorrow that affect our communities and our nation. In Indiana you have from 6AM to 6PM. I don’t care of your party affiliation but do the right thing and take action. Vote!

In Freedom,

Aaron

This post is directed to a couple of people in particular (I hope you know who you are). I have nothing to say but THANK YOU. Even those words are so meek compared to what I feel right now. Allow me to explain…

For those of you who know me, I have not always been a believer. Actually, I was quite the opposite and VERY stubborn about my non-belief. I might have even been rude or mean to believers at one time (I most certainly hope not but I don’t remember much of those days).

Anyway, I came to know Christ as my Lord and Savior in 2002 and publicly declared my faith in 2003 with a baptism. I have grown so much over the years and am amazed at what God has done, is doing and is going to do in my life. I am so thankful that I had one friend, in particular, who stuck by my side while I was a non-believer and helped me accept my salvation. I will forever be indebted. She took on countless questions and pokes and proddings. She may not have always known the answer but was always willing to find out and get back to me. She never failed me. She ALWAYS got back to me. Anyway, I look back and never realized how much that meant to me. Had she not taken the time to be my friend and care about my salvation…I might still be on the road to hell. I am still a sinner but I know that my salvation is secure. I do my best to live a life that is Christ-like but I fall short many times a day. But you know what? That is okay. Christ died for my sins and knows my true heart. As long as I continue to strive to live righteously, I am following Him the best I can.

So, the point to my story…the reason for this post. Well, tonight I met someone who is just as I was. She proudly declares her husband’s atheism and she is agnostic. Both were raised with God but too many “rules” got in the way of the message. I was taken aback by her brazen declaration after my causal comment of how God had changed my life and now I have children (for those that know me, know that I NEVER wanted kids – again, this was BEFORE God). Anyway, I did the best I could at sharing the basics of the Gospel. Christ is God, became human, lived a perfect life, died for our sins, was resurrected and now sits in Heaven. This is a free gift with no strings attached. Forget all the “humanism” that is brought into religion (working on the Sabbath, no drinking, no swearing, no this or that). Simple faith that Christ died for your sins is the entire message. Everything else will fall into place. Even though I am saved, I am still a sinner. I mess up every day because I still allow my flesh to rule. That’s okay. God will forgive. Turns out her husband is ACTUALLY agnostic and just doesn’t know the difference even though I tried to explain the difference, it just fell on deaf ears. So I stopped that approach and went with my real life experience (something I know quite well). I explained my previous life without Christ and how much things have changed for me. No I don’t have money coming out my ears, no I don’t live in a palace, no I don’t have fancy things, no life isn’t easy. That is not the point of being a Christian. My soul is saved and that is all that matters. Heaven awaits me and I want everyone to be there with me. It was so weird being exposed to such a staunch non-believer. I was so uncomfortable and I really didn’t know how to continue the conversation without sounding preachy or weird so it just kinda fizzled out. The whole reason this is kind of a big deal is that I was hoping to use her 12-year-old daughter as a babysitter for Abraham. I am so torn and frustrated. I want to use this little girl and show the light of Christ to her and maybe she can be a light for her family. The downside is I do not want a non-believer to be in my house. Not that all believers are trustworthy but I do put them a tad bit higher on the totem pole of trust. Plus, if Abraham and her are going to be together, I need her to follow our routine. That will include a Bible story and prayer time before bed.  The mom says this will be no problem but is this Satan trying to infiltrate my home or is this God giving me a taste of my own medicine? Anyway, it was one of the weirdest and most uncomfortable times I have ever had since becoming a believer. I am glad it has taken THIS long before I encountered something like this. My faith isn’t shaken but I have deep regret for the way I was but am thankful for those around me who never stopped praying for my salvation. I will definitely add this family to my prayer list, but I need God’s guidance on what to do about the babysitting. God is good and will provide an answer for me:) Thanks for listening and know that I thank you (you know who you are) very much for helping me accept my salvation.

I often listen to Moody radio on the hour long drive home from work late at night (or is it early morning?) to keep me awake. It is uplifting, and it helps keep me alert. This morning when the 2am top of the hour SRN News briefing came on I heard this most wonderful news!

Five Abortion Clinics Close in Massachusetts

All the abortion clinics in the Cape Cod area of Massachusetts have closed.

NARAL Pro Choice America said it’s because of the pro-life movement has cast a negative light on abortion. Pro-life advocates say that’s only half-right.

Ann Fox, president of Massachusetts Citizens for Life, said most of the stigma is within the medical community.

“It’s not interesting, it’s not life-saving,” she said, “it’s not any of the things that doctors go into medicine for.”

Dr. Patty Giebink was an abortionist for Planned Parenthood in the 1990s, but had a change of heart. She’s now a strong voice for life.

“The people who are still doing abortions, many of them are lying and are in it for the money,” she said.  “They don’t care about women.”

She noted the reasons people are pro-abortion are coming apart at the seams.

In the past several months, Planned Parenthood has announced the closing of several abortion clinics, including six in El Paso, Texas, and another six in Indiana.

Abortion is murder. Plain and simple. It is not a political matter, regardless of what the talking heads want us to believe. This news story is great news that the battle to stop abortion is making progress. Scores of closing clinics due to medical practitioners having a change of heart is wonderful and what is truly needed. If we simply pass legislation that makes abortion illegal, it will merely become an even more dangerous practice as it goes black market. The doctors stopping the practice of such barbaric procedures will end it altogether, as you can’t perform procedures without skilled staff willing to participate. This is what we all need to pray for, or why bother calling ourselves followers of the Holy Word of God.

Abortion statistics are absolutely horrifying: 4,100 daily in the United States; ~115,000 worldwide. DAILY. That is one every 21 seconds and 0.75 seconds, respectively. Millions of babies need our constant prayers folks. Only the works of the Holy Spirit and Christ himself can move enough hearts to stop this barbarism.

A bumper sticker I saw yesterday sums it all up: “If it’s not a baby, then you’re not pregnant.”