Destroying a contactless payment debit card

[Jonny69]

Possibly a stupid question - whenever I've replaced a debit card, the old one usually remains active, so I chop it up into pieces and cut through the chip so it can't be used. With the contactless payment card, there must be an RFID chip somewhere in the card so, unless I specifically cut through it, surely someone could take the bits out the bin and use the card for sub-£20 transactions.

Anyone know where the RFID bit is or shall I just take it to the bank and let them deal with it? Otherwise I could probably arrange to have it put in a ridiculously high magnetic field at work and kill anything that looks like it might be excited by EM. Don't really want to have to set it on fire or sit here and waste my lunchtime cutting it into smaller and smaller pieces until I find the chip *just* for peace of mind.

 

[darael]

I just put my cards through the paper shredder.

 

[NVP]

Microwave?

 

[Redz]

kill it with fire

 

[meandu229]

Burn it with fire.

 

[Fireskull]

Microwave?

Haha yeah I have heard of people doing this also.

 

[LizardKing]

Surly the RFID bit is just part of the chip?!

 

[Mynight]

Some cards have the chip in different places. As such I'd suggest putting it through a shredder(assuming you have one that cuts both ways).

As long as you destroy the loop it's pretty much useless.

 

[Alienfish360]

Nuke it from orbit.

 

[anthony566]

+1 for using a cross shredder

 

[darael]

Found this online - it seems the chip with contacts on your card is the one you need to destroy:

 

[Sandycheeks]

I cut them up with scissors into confetti and bin them bit by bit in various bins just to make sure.
Probably a bit OTT considering my bank balance.

 

[ElliorR]

Boxing stance?

 

[Mynight]

I cut them up with scissors into confetti and bin them bit by bit in various bins just to make sure.
Probably a bit OTT considering my bank balance.

I know the feeling. Better safe than racking up debt though .


Pretty good point about not dumping it in the same bin.

 

[Haggisman]

To echo others, this is one thread where "kill it with fire" is a perfectly valid and appropriate response.

 

[ElliorR]

But do it in a well ventilated area. Fire safety is no smoke.

 

[semi-pro waster]

I might not be thinking about this deeply enough but wouldn't the RFID chip be linked to the details contained in the card (which would include the expiry date)? If that's the case then when the card hits its expiry date and gets chopped up then shouldn't the RFID chip also be useless?

 

[estebanrey]

I would have though the chip ID would be deactivated when you get your new card no?

 

[Mynight]

Only if you cancel the old card. I've got two cards from when I replaced mine a while ago both still work.

Makes sense though.

 

[HecFam]

Just throw it in at the top of your wheely bin with a bank statement and your pin scrawled on a piece of paper next to it.