Ghost Tapping Scams: How thieves can charge your payment cards

April 30, 2026 – Published on ABC WFTV Orlando

Tap-to-pay technology is easy and fast, but scammers are taking advantage of that in new ghost tapping scams.

In most cases, ghost tapping involves a transaction that someone agrees to make with a street vendor or someone going door-to-door. In those situations, the victim may not be able to see how much they’re being charged like they would at a regular store.

But perhaps the scariest type of ghost tapping is when a criminal armed with cheap device just walks close to someone and initiates a payment without the victim even realizing they were hit — like pickpocketing with a modern twist.

James Chatwani, a cybersecurity advisor for GuidePoint Security said, “An attacker doesn’t even have to have it out. They can simply just bump against your wallet… just automatically steal the information through essentially a wireless radio frequency.”

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