“RFIDs” — do you recognize this name? Do you know what they are? Do you own one? If your answer is no to any of these questions you had better learn fast and be prepared.

I spent the last week of April and the first two weeks of May visiting friends in Texas. I called my lending institutions to inform them where my credit cards would be in use. I added extra funds to my checking so as not to be caught short. I also gave my bank my cell phone number in case they saw irregular activity. In 50 years of having a bank account and various credit cards, I have never bounced a check or caused any financial institution undue concern.

I got home on May 11. On May 17 I shopped for ice cream and the associated fixings at a local grocery store for an evening church function in Central Park. I was informed my debit card was no good. I went to the bank and was informed my accounts were overdrawn to the tune of more than $5,000. I had lost everything and then some. Not only did I lose my funds but the bad guys went way overboard. No one ever called me about the large number of NSF charges.

Is this a mess you ask?

You can only imagine what those days were like for me filling out paperwork with banking officials, the police in this state and Texas as well as managers at Walmart. The bad guys in Texas purchased thousands of dollars in $200 Walmart gift cards in central Texas.

One police officer told me about a trend hitting Texas that is about to sweep the nation. I am hoping to alert this readership so that you might avoid what I have been through. The bad guys now have “skimmers” and they can drive or walk by you and gather your vital credit card information without you even knowing it and in hours wipe you out! They like gas stations, quick stops and other areas where large numbers of people are in and out so that they might harvest huge numbers of credit cards and their associated information. The Texas officer told me this trend is sweeping east and west from the central part of this country. He then informed me how I might have protected myself.

There are devices, lined wallets for men and compact cases for women, that can protect your cards from being skimmed. If you have a single card then there are special sleeves for them. These items are available at REI in Olympia, Fred Meyer stores, the American Automobile Association headquarters in Olympia, and on line at Amazon. Just ask for an RFID please!

We believe we know where my compromise took place as it happened to my friends at the same time that night where we were dining in Texas. I used a debit card and they used their VISA so neither is safe from skimming. The Texas police and Walmart authorities will start an investigation as soon as the Grays Harbor County Sheriff files their report with them. We believe we can crack this particular case because of certain clues, but in the meantime, if I can save one person from this horror, then I will consider my mission accomplished.

Alan Rammer

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