Just received this from a good friend and computer/electronics technician. Thought everyone might be interested, and for those who already have seen this, just ignore me :).
http://www.wreg.com/news/wreg-electronic-pickpocketing-story,0,5636726,full.story
Bob C.
Interesting.
Proir to introducing the PayPass system to Australia, the credit providers had to indemnify the card holder against loss. Of cause the proviso by the card companies was that the onus was on the card holder to inform the card company of any fraudulent action. This method of electronic card theft makes a mockery of the card holder’s indemnity and responsibilities. Losing a card is fairly obvious to the card holder, but electronic theft may go unnoticed for weeks until a statement is received by the card holder.
Easy way to foil this is to demagnetize your card. Yea, the cashier will be annoyed because she’ll have to type the # in, but you cant get your info lifted.
Won’t help Bob. They are talking about RFID - Radio Frequency chips in Smart Cards. The only one I own is my mini passport and it’s stored in a foil slip case that the gummint says keeps it from being read (if you believe that).
Edit to add: If you read the comments from the credit card companies, they all say that the data than can be captured by an un-authorized reader is useless. Again - if you believe that 
Jon,
If you watched the vid, it clearly shows the news reporter picking up card numbers - with the owners confirming the information gleaned.
Bob,
Rather than disable the card completely, I thing a small hammer and anvil at the chip will work better. I thing the standard magnetic strip on the back of the card will still be functional.
EDIT: An electronics tech friend tells me that the foil will help, but may not be the total answer.
Bob C.
Only effects the so-called “Smart Cards.”
When they started coming out, I wondered if that was a good idea.
If you are really conserned just stick it in the microwave for a few seconds & the RFID chip will die a terrible death… Don’t leave it to long as the card will deform & burn…
And for those gullible folks with more money than sense, there’s …
http://www.hammacher.com/Product/78701?source=FROOGLE
Bob C.
