Students: 'Smart' Credit Cards Distribute Personal Info

You've probably seen the ads for those new credit cards that let you make a purchase just by waving it near a scanner, no swiping or signature needed.

But a group of graduate students at the University of Massachusetts said those smart cards leave your personal information vulnerable to identity thieves.

The students said they made a frequency reader and hid it in a briefcase and were able to read the information tucked away in a wallet.

"If I can stand next to somebody so that my briefcase is about four inches away from their pocket for about half a second, that's enough time and enough distance for me to get their information," said Tom Heydt-Benjamin, a computer science Ph.D. student at UM. "So, I could do this in a line of a movie theater or I could do this in a subway car."

Credit card companies said smart cards reveal no more than what is already on the face of traditional credit cards, and other fraud detection programs are already in place.