Thursday, October 6, 2011

How To Make A RFID Blocking Wallet

NEW RFID Blocking Wallet
Protect your money and privacy!




With the proliferation of RFID devices and related privacy concerns, it seemed due time to create the RFID Blocking Duct Tape Wallet. There are many ways to prevent Radio Frequency ID tags from being transmitted from devices. I often use my work badge and school ID which both contain RFID tags. With drivers licenses, credit cards, and cash now beginning to contain RFID tags, why not create a protective wallet.

RFID chips now exist in:


  • Chase's Blink Credit Card




  • Mastercard PayPass Credit Card




  • Many Corporate IDs




  • Many University IDs




  • United States Passports




  • Euro Passports
    etc...

    There are two materials which impede Radio Signals with incredible success... Water & Metal. Although you could fill a bag full of water and place your money, wallet, or whatever else in it, let's continue with the metal route. A single layer of aluminum foil of only 27 microns thick is often enough to block the RFID signals of most readers or 1mm of dilute salt water. A quick test at my work place using my badge confirmed the effectiveness of a layer of aluminum foil. (insert obligatory aluminum foil hat joke) So... the next step was to design a wallet with aluminum foil embedded inside. Using the plans to make Duct Tape Wallets I created previously, it was simple to modify them to include the aluminum foil.

    If you're simply looking for a bit of casual protection, simply stacking your cards next to each other will assist in reducing their strength.

    Technical details on RFID (.pdf)


    Classic Duct Tape
    Wallet Instructions
    Please see the original construction plans at this point...

    In creating a RFID Blocking Duct Tape Wallet, the only step that needs to be modified is the first one. To create a sheet of RFID Blocking tape, simply place a sheet of foil on the table, and place strips of Duct Tape overlapping on top. Once created, the sheet can be cut with scissors to the sizes needed to continue making the wallet.

    I chose to make one more addition to my RFID Protective Wallet. A simple flap on the left hand side prevents cards inside the wallet from broadcasting even while the wallet is open half way. If there are cards you wish to broadcast at will, consider creating a pocket of only tape on the outside of the wallet for you to slip the card into.

    Here are a few more pictures from the creation process...