RFID-blocking products are practically worthless. Here’s why

We’ve all heard of RFID skimming right? It’s where criminals with RFID readers sneak up behind us and scan the credit card or passport in our pocket or bag to steal information they can use for fraudulent transactions or identity theft. The threat of RFID skimming has given rise to an enormous industry of RFID-blocking products. It’s a standard feature in smart wallets, and you can even buy shirts and jeans with RFID blocking pockets built in. The question is: Are they worth buying? “No, they’re a waste of money,” Roger Grimes, data-driven defense evangelist at KnowBe4, told Digital Trends. “You shouldn’t spend one cent. There has still to this day not been a report of a single real-world crime that an RFID blocking product would have stopped.”