So what's the scam they're working? I've been wary of the contactless cards since first hearing about them, but the companies say there's no risk. A fraudster would first have to have a device capable of communicating with the RF responder in the card. I'd assume that a POS terminal would work for this purpose, and one could be stripped down to the essentials for portability, and perhaps equipped with a purpose-specific antenna so it could get a little better range when "talking" to the embedded chip.

So, my guess would be:

1. Use bootleg POS to initiate a transaction to, say, Ivan's Candy and Cigarette Vending Co.
2. Collect funds (while providing nothing in return, of course)
3. Launder that money out of the system before financial network notices you're a scammer.

#3 would be the tricky thing, right? You need to have a legitimate account of some kind to collect the money, don't you? Banks wouldn't hand these out willy-nilly, would they? When I open a bank account, I gotta show ID, prove where I live, provide my tax ID number -- and all of that in person. It would irritate me, to say the least, that this process is easier for an organized mob (Heck, they wanted me to present my child -- in person with both parents present -- to open a linked "kid's account" at my bank. Not a new account, mind you, just an accounting trick to segregate kiddo's money so they can feel it's theirs and learn to bank!)

Maybe I lack the imagination required to lead an international crime ring. And the muscle to be a regular goon.

But . . . when I did receive a contactless card recently, I still "disabled" that feature. Amusing to see clerks whack it repeatedly on the POS. I'm easily amused -- we don't have cable TV, after all.