A relative of mine got a brand new United States passport last week, so the first thing I did was check it for an RFID tag. I’ve written about RFID tags before (look below at the “recent posts“) and some of the inherent dangers of such a technology.
Members of Congress and the State Department have been issued RFID passports – but the new one I took a look at didn’t have one. How can you tell?
It will have this little tag on it:
There are two quick ways to disable the chip. First off they sell little wallets that keep the RFID chip from broadcasting your personal information to every terrorist within 35 feet. The second (and my personal favorite) is to stick you passport in the microwave for about 2 seconds. I am serious about that – no joke.
So renew and get a new passport now if you need one before they roll out RFIDs to everyone. DHS was suppose to begin the rollout at the end of October this year, so you never know when they will be issued.
…and of course, if you get a new passport, please let us know if is comes with an RFID chip 😉
