In 2025 cash accounted for somewhere between 16% to 18% of all transactions in the United States. Approximately 6% of transactions were done with paper checks. That’s not a lot of real cash changing hands. Everything else is being done by credit card.
A little history.
Back in the 1950s, it was the credit card imprinter; you can actually buy one on. Amazon right now. Then, in the 1980s, we started switching over to electronic “Payment terminals”
Not that many years ago we would swipe our cards. Then around 2015 we would insert it into a slot. We thought that was pretty cool. Now we tap our card on the terminal.
But you need to watch out.
The use of credit card skimmers goes back decades, back when we were swiping our cards. The skimmer would store the information and then transmit it to somebody for later use to access your bank accounts and clean you out.
The credit card industry countered that in 2015 by introducing Credit card scanners. You insert the credit card, and it scans the little microchip in your card.
The scammers figured out that one pretty quick and came up with their own version of a credit card skimmer that looked like and could skim credit card RFID chips.
Skimming is a big business.
According to the FBI. They estimate that upwards of $1 billion are being lost by institutions and individuals every year, and these credit card skimmers are everywhere, not just in the big city. Unless you’re an expert, these new skimmers are very difficult to detect.
How do you protect yourself?
The short answer is when you’re using a credit card machine at the store, don’t swipe it, and don’t insert the card to be scanned. Tap it. If the credit card machine at your favorite store does not have a tap option, you really should think twice about using it.
If your credit card is so old that it doesn’t have an RFID chip in it, you probably need to get your credit card replaced. If your bank or financial institution can’t supply you with a credit card that has an RFID chip, you might consider changing your financial institution.
Right now, with modern technology, the only way to protect yourself completely is by tapping your card or paying cash.
There seems to be a cottage industry that has been created around credit card security and there are all kinds of claims about protecting your RFID emissions. Special wallets, putting your cards in a special shielded bag. A quick search on Amazon will show you page after page of products.
For better or worse time marches on, and technology improves. Including the scammers. So, every time you use your credit card, be just a little bit skeptical before you use it.
And if you can avoid it, don’t swipe.
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