Do you have a contactless payment card in your purse right now?
And… more importantly, is it safe?
I you’re not sure what I mean, then check and see if any of your cards has the little ))) symbol (a bit like a WiFi symbol you see on your phone, but it’s on it’s side). See my card, here on the right.
If your contactless card isn’t in a card-guard purse, you’re leaving yourself open to fraud. This is because your card can be scanned through your purse if it’s near to a scanning device (whether you put it near the device… or scarily – someone puts the scanning device near your card!)
Horror Story
It was a conversation with a friend in Dubai that prompted me to investigate designing a purse with an ‘anti-scan’ interlining.
My friend was scammed out of £1000’s when thieves scanned her credit card through her handbag! Luckily her bank sent her a text message every time her card was used, so when she heard her phone ping several times in a row, she immediately rushed to read the messages, thinking the kids had fallen ill at school or something worse!
It wasn’t the school, it was her bank telling her she’d just spend £x here and £x there. Of course she hadn’t! She’d been a victim of contactless payment fraud as her card wasn’t kept in a card-safe wallet or purse.
This was a couple of years ago, when no one thought about the safety of their scannable cards, even though they were in use by lots of people.
How not to fall victim to this new and increasing hi-tech crime
The only way to make sure your contactless, scannable cards are safe is to keep them in a metallic lined wallet or purse. The metallic liner creates a ‘Faraday cage’ effect around the card so it cannot be scanned. Don’t ask me to explain that further – it’s over 30 years since I did physics at school and anyway I’m sure there’s a very good explanation on Google 🙂
So, physics aside, I got designing and the Bertie and Annie purses were born, followed more recently with my range of ‘Toscana’ wallets and credit card holders.
Stay Safe and be Fashionable
So this is Bertie. A fabulous roomy purse that holds 12 credit cards with plenty of room for bank notes, coins, receipts and everything else. That’s 12 cards that are safe from scammers because of the special anti-scan lining inside the purse. Yay!
Apart from pink, Bertie also comes in Black, Brown and Blue.
The Annie purse doubles as a mini clutch bag, so it’s perfect for Christmas parties. You can even fit your phone in Annie and the wrist strap means you don’t need another handbag for your night out.
Annie also comes in the same 4 colours. See all the details here.
Other designs in the range include credit card cases that match both Bertie and Annie, so if you’re a credit card collector, you can keep your extra cards safe in a matching card holder.
Keep Your Money Secure
For guys, you might like my new antique look sheepskin leather wallets and card holders. The wallets come in 3 sizes in both black and rich brown and hold up to 10 cards. There are also credit card cases and even a mini one card holder (pic at the top of this post) for the times you just need to know that one credit card is safe in your pocket or handbag.
Are your contactless payment cards safe right now?
Click now to view all my new designs of Card-Guard wallets and purses
Shona, gosh, what a powerful insight into this form of payment, thanks lovely!
Thanks for your comment Carie