Myth Busting: Is it really possible to steal credit card numbers with a cell phone camera?

MythBusters is one of my favorite televisions shows. I love watching Adam and Jamie put urban legends to the test. In the spirit of that show, CreditBloggers is investigating the truth behind a common identity theft legend:

Can a shoulder surfing identity thief really steal your credit card numbers using a cell phone camera?

We took a few cell phone photos of our own in the office this morning to see if this was actually possible. I used a Motorola E815 phone with a pretty decent 1.3 mega pixel camera for our tests.

Test 1: Over the shoulder shot

There is no way you can see any numbers or name information on the credit card in this photo. I tried playing with the image in PhotoShop and it would be impossible for thief to get data from this picture. But this card is a light color and it was a sort of dark room. Let's try again.

Test 2: Different card, different room

You can make out a bit more detail in this photo but still nothing that could actually be used. I was standing pretty darn close to our test subject and we had the card angled perfectly. I blurred out where the numbers would be in this photo just in case, but there was nothing legible.

Test 3: Super close up

I am about five inches away from the credit card in this shot and you still can only make out four of the numbers (I blurred them out in this photo for security). You would definitely know that a thief was up to something if they got this close to your card with a camera phone.

Verdict: This myth is busted! An identity thief would have to take a whole lot of camera phone photos before even getting one shot where any of the numbers are legible. It would be pretty impossible for an identity thief to use a basic camera phone to steal credit card data from you. I could see a thief possibly managing to steal information from a black and white printed piece of paper with a camera phone, but credit cards just don't show up well in low-resolution photos.

Tip: Apparently light colored credit cards are much less legible in camera phone photos. If there was a risk of having your data stolen with a camera phone, you could reduce it by using a white, silver or clear card. Older cards seem safer too; they are much less legible when the metallic sheen wears off the numbers.

Comments

[Wendell]

i've heard about this myth awhile back but never actually attempted to try it. What about the magnet making your credit card strip thats on the back non-readable ?

[Emily Davidson]

I've heard that demagnetizing myth too, especially with magnetic fobs and the strong magnet on the Sidekick phone. I haven't tested it or seen it happen in real life though.