A Sony Ericsson executive announced that they have created new mobile phones to be released in 2010. These new phones will have an RFID chip inside that will allow owners to open their car or house with their mobile phones. However, there is also another option that the phone comes with which users may not find as handy. The phones can also be used by credit card companies to track the location of the card holders. The credit card companies state that this feature would only be used to cut down on the amount of fraud currently occurring in the world.
The vice president of Ericsson stated that by offering this option to the credit card companies they could find mobile phone uses with location data and IP mapping.
They would be able to tell if the consumer is in the same location where the transaction is taking place. In several countries there is a high amount of credit card fraud. The credit card companies are the ones to suffer since they have to refund the charges. By using a chip that has real time traffic maps and updates they can ensure the transaction is shut down before the credit card company, holder, and retail shop suffers. They feel it is a win- win situation.
However, credit card users may not feel the same. The credit card company is asking to invade the privacy of credit card holders to reduce fraud. A consumer may feel they should not be tracked because someone is allowed to get away with fraud.
Instead credit card holders want to see tougher laws regarding fraudulent activities. Instead of one to five years these scammers need to get longer sentences without parole. They should have to pay, most consumers believe, since it is the credit card holders getting more severe punishment with tracking devices.
