Analysis of Credit Card Attacks Using the NFC Technology

Near field communication (NFC) is a short-range type of communication technology used in various appliances, and more recently in contactless credit and debit bank cards. Most modern smartphones have the capability to receive and transmit NFC signals, which makes them a promising platform for mobile payment. However, payment systems always attract malicious users who try to use the technology to get financial benefits. There is a wide array of smartphone applications and external hardware capable of analyzing NFC systems and traffic that may enable several types of attacks. In this paper, we analyse the existing threats and try to assess whether the users are safe from such attacks and what harm, if any, can such attacks yield.