# Shall I scan your right hand or forehead? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 26, 2003, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shall-i-scan-your-right-hand-or-forehead/215447 "2003-11-26T20:17:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![1010011010](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/ea666f/32.png) [@1010011010](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1010011010)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shall-i-scan-your-right-hand-or-forehead/215447/21 "2003-11-27T16:15:18Z")
It’s implantable via syringe. Anyone with an RFID reader can get the chips to wake-up and respond… depending on design, from several feet away. Just set up a station near a busy sidewalk and snort everyone’s credit card, bank routing, and social security numbers, and any other data. Want to stalk someone? EM pulse 'em, get back their home address. I’m sure there are ways to secure them, but anything done by wireless can be monitored, and the power and size limitations would make public-key generation and exchange difficult to implement. There’s no point in having people type in a PIN to access “secure” data, as I can just hang out by the check-out and monitor the communications until I have enough data to hack your RFID… and then I can read your chip, from a distance, with you being none the wiser. I’d also rather give a mugger my wallet, yes? ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shall-i-scan-your-right-hand-or-forehead/215447/22 "2003-11-27T16:44:46Z")
Hell, I don’t like the idea of people obtaining personal information via my credit card… but I didn’t realize how much was possible when I GOT my credit card. And I deal in cash, wherever possible. And I will continue to do so long after implantable chips become possible. I’ve got a better idea. Why not put the implantable chips in the purchaseable items? That way, they can get scanned and rung up as I approach the exit to the store, and all I have to do is swipe my credit card or insert my bills… Somehow, this idea seems much more “Jetsons” than “1984…” ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Zero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@Saint\_Zero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Zero)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shall-i-scan-your-right-hand-or-forehead/215447/23 "2003-11-27T16:52:44Z")
Problem being, is that they aren’t effective with Aluminum foil over them. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shall-i-scan-your-right-hand-or-forehead/215447/24 "2003-11-27T17:26:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by vanilla \* > \*\*Sure do, as soon as they fix it so there is no other choice. > And they will. \*\* And how will they do that, pray tell? Seems to me that there’s no way such a thing could be forced, unless there was a law, and unless the Constitution went under some radical changes, I can’t see such a law ever being passed. You have to also force the American public to give up using cash, and from my years in retail, I know that this will be very, very difficult. More importantly, Christians will be up in arms, passionately fighting against having to take “the mark of the beast.” It would be utter political suicide for any politician to alienate this voting base by pushing for compulsory implantation, especially when the chips are not a _necessity._ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shall-i-scan-your-right-hand-or-forehead/215447.md?page=1)