As contactless payments become an integral part of everyday life, a troubling scam dubbed “ghost tapping” is becoming known for exploiting the very convenience it promises.
Ghost tapping is a fraud method that targets the “tap-to-pay” feature found on cards and mobile wallets. It involves using near-field communication (NFC) technology, which enables a card or phone to exchange data with a payment terminal at very close range.
Better Business Bureau (BBB), a non-profit organization that helps consumers find out if a business is trustworthy, recently warned about this kind of fraud saying it had received several reports of it [1].
How does ghost tapping happen?
Unlike older scams that required a physical swipe or a tampered reader, ghost tapping can proceed without a card ever leaving its owner’s wallet or phone.
Scammers have several approaches:
They may bump or brush past someone in a crowded location with a hidden reader, triggering a payment from the victim’s tap-enabled device.
https://moneywise.com/news/better-business-bureau-issues-warning-about-ghost-tapping