Before you create something, I think it is important to know how to dispose of it. I have been using a Citibank RFID token for the last few months. I swipe the token in front of a reader, and the charge is made to my credit card account. It comes in pretty handy, particularly since my subway of choice (the 6 train) accepts the PayPass token. It hasn't been spoofed or compromised, not yet anyway. But I have another problem. The damn things are almost indestructable.
The problems started when I called to activate my new credit card. Like the card I got a few months ago, it arrived with two additional credit tokens. When I got to the point in the conversation when the service rep asked me to destroy my older card, I asked her if my old token would still work. She didn't know. (Turns out, it does!) Then I asked her how exactly I should destroy my old token. After all, you can't just throw it away. Since it has no authentication mechanism, anyone that found it could get free 6-train rides for life--on me. She didn't know how to deactivate or destroy it. I couldn't find anything on the Citibank Web site either. She did say she heard of one customer who "used a hammer." So that is exactly what I did. Here it is, in just a few simple, albeit dangerous, steps.
Remember, safety comes first. These impact-resistant Oakley sunglasses make the perfect eye-protection device. My assistant and photographer, Jen Deleo, wore her glasses as well and assured me they would deflect flying plastic.
I chose a mid-size hammer that could generate a fair amount of force, but that I could still swing with control. If you have a vise, I recomend using it. PC Mag labs doesn't have a vise, so I held it down with my finger. DON'T DO THIS. After a few good thwacks, the token shot up from the bench, hit the ceiling, and landed on a old Pentium II desktop 20 feet away. No one was hurt, but Jen looked a little shaken and asked about using actual goggles. I decided to wrap the token in a paper towel.
It took about 25 or 30 full-strength impacts for the PayPass Token to come apart. The little clip came off first, but getting through the plastic was tough.
The hammer alone wouldn't do it. The device is just too compact. I had to slip a screwdriver into the plastic case and pry out the RFID transmitter. It actually came out in one piece! Of course that is a problem, too. You can't throw that out, either.
This is where the cutting comes in. I tried tearing it apart, but it didn't work. Scissors work best.
So what have we learned? First of all, despite my advocacy for the usefullness of RFID-based transactions, this token problem is pretty significant. Citibank has sent me four of these tokens. I am using one, but the rest of them require serious hardware and a fair amount of violence to eliminate. That is just stupid. It is irresponsible for companies to build products and technologies that cannot be safely thrown away or recycled.
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November 30, 2006 5:39 PM
I would have used fire.
December 1, 2006 3:51 AM
Wouldn't a strong magnet wipe the info?
December 1, 2006 7:44 AM
Microwave?
December 1, 2006 9:49 AM
I have been pondering the same thing -- I have one of the old, oval CitiBank fobs sitting in a desk-drawer. Figured that I would pitch it in a campfire next summer.
December 1, 2006 9:56 AM
I'd pop it in the microwave on a paper plate with a small bowl or cup of water to keep from damaging the microwave.
December 1, 2006 1:30 PM
Fire would work, but that plastic is probably pretty toxic when it burns. The microwave is a good idea. I don't want to use mine of course, but there is one in the break room in the office.....
April 5, 2007 10:45 AM
I used the microwave. I put it in a small microwave safe-plastic container with lid - A MUST. You must experience this...phenomenal!!!
May 2, 2007 5:09 PM
I think I would have drilled a few holes in it.
August 19, 2007 9:28 PM
I was having the same problem. I just lit it on fire in an ashtray outside. Those things turn out to be VERY flamable and seemed to do the trick without any hammer injuries.
August 25, 2007 9:49 AM
Dig hole bury it, million years later "ratus erectus" digs garden finds it,
Gets free rides on subway for life