RFID has been in the press for several years now.  There are so many theories out there about what RFID can do.  Many are accurate, but an alarming number of them are myths.  Used properly, the technology can streamline your operation, prevent loss, facilitate better just in time delivery, provide trending models, and keep your onsite inventory remarkably accurate.  Unfortunately, most of the RFID news today focuses on fears that, in most cases, have no validity.

We’ve all seen them, people making money selling tools that destroy RFID chips.  They’re shameless in their fear mongering.  They have taken a few worst case scenarios and blown them out of proportion to sell overpriced gimmicks.  On one web site I saw a “tool” priced at $30.00 that removes the chips from the center of tags.  It was a hole punch that sells for $2.43 at the office supply store.  Other people are making money selling sleeves and wallets for your credit cards that block cyber criminals from covertly reading your cards when you can accomplish the same thing with aluminum foil.  I’m not saying that you shouldn’t protect yourself and be aware of potential threats, but you also shouldn’t spend good money on gimmicks that feed on the flames fanned by profiteers.  So, should you be concerned?  Let’s take a look at some common fears and the steps that providers are taking to protect you.

My favorite ridiculous fear…  “Someone with a portable reader can scan the product tags in my shopping bag on the street and find out what I buy.  They can use that information to build a marketing profile about me.”  Guess what, if you used a credit or debit card, someone already knows what you bought and is using that information to build a marketing profile on you.  Their way is better.  Using your credit card purchase information, they also know who you are.  The guy that scanned your shopping bag doesn’t.  In fact, the information from your bag is so useless that I wonder why he would bother.  I think I could go my whole life without knowing that random lady number 327 bought light bulbs, tooth paste, 6 apples, and a ham.  There is no useful information there unless I’m trying to figure out how fast my local stores might run out of specific products.  Of course I would have to sample thousands of people’s bags to get an accurate trend.  That might get me enough information to buy what I need before all the stores run out.  Then again, since the stores are using RFID supply chain management, they probably already have the same information that I do and will order new stock in time to avoid running out.  What a colossal waste of time.

RFID tags really are everywhere.  They’re in your credit cards, your passport, and some driver’s licenses just to name a few.  The fear mongers are afraid of being tracked everywhere they go.  This one really could be done, for a price.  Portal readers have a range of 10 to 30 feet in most cases.  Some are better, some are worse.  To track you around your travels, Big Brother would have to install RFID portals literally everywhere.  The price would be comparable to the defense budget of some countries.  Although this could be done in theory, why would anyone want to?  The government really does want to track some people.  Those people are also smart enough to fool the system.  We are currently facing a huge economic crisis as well as funding a constant state of war that may never completely end.  It seems like a lot of money to spend on a surveillance system that can be fooled with kitchen foil.

Many schools are using RFID in School ID cards.  The schools are getting a lot of resistance here.  The goal is rapid accurate attendance as well as keeping kids where they belong.  They can also be used to check kids on and off of buses for field trips and sporting events.  Some parents are afraid that it will help people stalk their children.  We already stressed the difficulty of hiding portals everywhere.  If the US government isn’t going to go to the expense, we can be fairly certain your child’s stalker can’t afford it either.  That leaves a mobile reader that has a read range under 15 feet.  If the stalker can get close enough to read the tag, he doesn’t need it.  He can see his target.  The tag doesn’t bring any advantage.  Unless the integrator that installed the system is incompetent, that tag doesn’t even have any useful information on it.  It has a number that only means something to the school’s database.  Just like our shopping bag scenario, there is no advantage to reading the tag.

One fear that has been in the press often lately is covert scanning of credit cards.  This one is possible.  If someone links a high frequency reader to a net book or tablet PC and carries it around, they can read cards through most wallets and purses.  There is one thing to remember though.  These tags are high frequency and therefore different than the tags that go on the products you purchase or on school tracking systems.  They require a very close (almost contact) read.  Think of how you use them.  You have to touch them to the reader pad at the register.  Although a criminal can read them through your pocket, he has to get pretty friendly (especially if your wallet is in your pocket).  I never let anyone get that close to my wallet with anything.  If the bad guy does get the number, it usually doesn’t help.  There are other things required to make a credit card purchase (PIN, picture ID verification, zip codes at gas pumps, etc).  At the end of the day the credit card companies protect you against unauthorized purchases.  They are also the people sending out the RFID enabled cards.  Since they are on the hook for the unauthorized purchases, they wouldn’t enable the cards if it was a real concern.

Bottom line…  The benefits far outweigh the mostly fictitious risks.  Any time a new way of doing things comes about; there is someone ready to find all the conspiracies behind it.  Although the conspiracy theories and high tech heist scenarios make great stories, they are better suited to Hollywood than anything real.  The reality is less sensational, but still exciting.   Several innovative companies are moving a very old technology in new creative directions in an effort to improve our lives.  Just take a little time to learn what the technology can and can’t do.  Don’t be afraid.  RFID isn’t going to get you.