Vaultid Announces Credit Card With Built-In Identity Theft Protection Measures
Vaultid LLC recently announced it has successfully engineered and tested a fully functional prototype of its Vaultid Card, a credit card that uses a computer chip, biometric fingerprint sensor and dynamic account numbering to protect users from becoming victims of identity theft.
Many companies and government agencies in the United States continue to struggle with securing consumers' data as tech-savvy hackers crack into seemingly secure databases, including many with PIN-based safeguards, according to Paul Rivera, Vaultid's CEO. Most identity theft solutions for bankcards, he said, are simply set up to help victims and their financial institutions deal with identity theft after the crime has already occurred.
Rivera said organizations should not create security systems that house live or useable consumer data. In other words, a consumer's data should not serve any purpose or have any value after it's been used by a consumer to complete a single transaction.
"If there's information out there that has real value, thieves are going to find a way to get to it -- no matter how secure the data may appear to be," Rivera said. "The only way to stop thieves is to render a consumer's account information meaningless for any future purposes."
For instance, the Vaultid Card only works after users pass their fingers over the sensor and the card's microchip confirms their identity. Once the user's identity is confirmed, the card display's a unique account number that's transmitted along a secure merchant network via RFID technology. The unique number allows users to complete their transactions. Vaultid Cards can generate up to 10,000 unique account numbers before repeating a number.
"The card remains in a dormant state until the user is authenticated," Rivera said. "The card never stores or displays a consumer's information, and each account number is only displayed once -- identity thieves hacking into a database would find the data they've stolen to be useless."
In June, Vaultid LLC announced that it has begun testing its secure payment solution with Lexington, Ky.-based EchoSat Communications Group, which uses various modalities to deliver transaction-transport services that support its clients' mission-critical business functions.
Rivera said Vaultid's payment technology can be integrated into mobile devices. The company's technology would allow consumers to use their cell phones as a secure on-site payment tool. For instance, consumers could use Vaultid's mobile-to-mobile payment solutions to pay for goods at a garage sale with only their cell phones.