And of course it can read the RfID chip in your credit card as well, so
there's no real need to even pause -- you'll (eventually) automatically
pay for everything in your cart simply by leaving the store.
And of course anyone in the area with the right kind of equipment
(stashed in a briefcase, in their pocket, or in the van parked outside)
can read your credit card info too, as well as obtaining a list of
everything you bought. And they can probably backtrack it to you, so
they know who you are, as well as what you're buying. "Only works in the
near-field of the card" ... but how "near" is "near"? That's like
saying "Only works with a heap of sand". How far the "near field"
extends depends on the equipment reading it.
Most of the spies will just be working to produce more targeted
advertising (where the "YUGE" money is) but there will no doubt be some
identity thieves as well. And then the vendors can say "OMG we totally
didn't see this coming! These security problems were entirely unexpected!"
Bleagh. With every reduction in the number of "clicks" needed to buy
something things get less secure.
On 12/06/2016 10:10 AM, Jed Rothwell wrote:
This article says that Amazon is using cameras and AI to implement
this. IBM and others are working on RfID technology that would make
"grab and go" grocery stores much easier to implement. Here is an
advertisement showing how this would work:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eob532iEpqk
As you see, the scanner works at a distance and it scans all items
simultaneously.
A few years ago, RfID tags were still too expensive for grocery items,
but the prices were falling rapidly. I think this system is inevitable.
- Jed
