What is NFC Fraud And How to Avoid it

What is NFC?

Near Field Communication (NFC), is short range wireless technology that allows you to exchange information between two devices that are in a close, physical proximity. NFC is commonly used for mobile payments where the NFC chip can be used to make contactless payments. Today, there are over 1 billion NFC-enabled devices worldwide, and this number continues to grow.

Even though NFC technology is secure, it can be compromised if someone gains access to your device without your consent and uses it for fraudulent purposes such as cloning or stealing money from your bank account. This kind of fraud is known as “NFC Fraud”. 

Let’s see exactly what this means and how you can protect yourself from it.

What is NFC Fraud?

NFC fraud is a type of fraud committed by hackers, criminals, and scammers. It is the unauthorised use of an NFC enabled device to access your data (typically smartphones and payment terminals). They may hack into your phone or steal it outright so that they can gain access to its NFC chip in order to withdraw money from your bank account via a payment terminal (or even make purchases in store or online).

Once someone has accessed your phone, these criminals can then clone the original chip onto their own device without having any access at all into yours!

How Can I Avoid it?

To avoid falling victim, you should:

• Use a PIN or authentication method for your NFC payment through an app.
• Avoid using the same PIN for multiple devices/cards, if someone manages to get their hands on one of your cards and manages to gain access to the PIN, they’ll be able to use it anywhere! Don’t let that happen by using unique passwords on every device you have with you.
• Don’t leave your device unattended when it’s connected to a public charging station (like the ones found at coffee shops and train stations), especially when there are no other people nearby who could alert you if something goes wrong.
• Make sure your phone is secure with a strong password, and disable the easy use of your digital wallet when your phone is locked (you can set it so it only works when the phone is unlocked).

Conclusion

NFC fraud can be prevented by taking some simple steps to protect your data. The most important thing is to make sure that you have a strong password that only you know and make sure that you don’t share it with anyone. You should also set up two-factor authentication so that no one can access your account without having both pieces of information (passwords and security codes). Finally, always be careful when using public computers and charging points (such as those found in libraries or cafes) as they could be infected with malware designed specifically for stealing sensitive information such as passwords or credit card numbers!