Page 11 - Delaware County Sheriff Annual Report

Construction Management personnel when building our new Public Safety Building and 100-bed correctional
facility. Sheriff Mills reflected, “Doug’s contributions to this Office were significant–and he will be missed.”
Craig DuMond comes to the job having completed 22 years with the New York State criminal justice
system, and having risen through the ranks to the Facilities Director for the 110-bed, state-run Allen Residential
Center in South Kortright. After such a lengthy and distinguished career spent serving the State of New York,
it only seems fitting that he begin a new chapter of his life and continue to serve the citizens of Delaware
County.
FROM THE SHERIFF’S DESK....
March 2, 2012
Wireless Identity Theft
From Radio-Frequency Enabled Cards
Identity theft is the downside to the convenience afforded us by relying on card scans to ease the process
of performing routine financial transactions and collaborate ones identity. I would like to make you aware of
a serious problem whereby the unscrupulous possessing the “right” equipment have the means to capture your
user information from the radio-frequency enabled chip installed in many credit cards, as well as your passport,
library card, employee ID badge or enhanced drivers license and harvest it for their personal gain
Most recently cards employing wireless radio frequency mechanics are vulnerable to being cloned by
those who surreptitiously bump their portable scanning device next to your pocket or purse and “read” the
personal information encrypted in your card. The information (name, address, Social Security Number, and
account information) will then miraculously travel to their device, and their card will be programmed to emit
your information (“cloned”) when read. In order to capture your information, a scanning device must be placed
within close proximity (a few inches) to your card. It is contended that drivers licenses and passports give a
stronger signal that can be picked up as far as 30 to 40 feet away and can be read from contactless models. To
make matters worse, “how to” demonstrations are readily available on line as well as sources for acquiring the
needed equipment.
As a result of this widespread problem, RFIDblocking sleeves and linedwallets have beenmanufactured
to shield one’s cards. For those who want to save money, it has been suggested that wrapping ones cards in
aluminum foil may also prevent information transmission. Engineers have suggested that an on/off switch be
installed in cards. When the cards are not in use and turned off, predators will be unable to download
information from them.
The U. S. Government has reacted in a proactive manner by issuing sleeves for passports. Of course
American ingenuity has noted a potential market and has marketed customized and artfully designed card
sleeves.
Not all credit card companies mark their cards with a symbol to indicate RFID capability. The growing
trend is to replace the old magnetic strip readers that take approximately 48 seconds to process with the RFID
smart card readers which take only 12 seconds to process. Some stores have already discontinued using the
magnetic strip readers. But even so, new digital wallet services may soon alleviate the practice of having to
carry credit cards. NCF (Near Field Communication) technology has also been introduced and is used mostly
when paying for purchases using cell phones.