Radio-frequency identification [or also know as RFID] is a tracking device that uses a radio-frequency electromagnetic fields to transfer data between the object it is attached to and a device that scans and tracks the attached object. RFID has many uses in present day. One use is that people use RFID to track their pets, automobiles, and even their loved ones with disabilities, like Alzheimer’s disease. Another use is in the retail realm. Businesses use RFID to track their merchandise from assembly lines to warehouses to the actual store. However, RFID has been recently adopted by the US government and it has created issues.
On August 14, 2006 the US Department of State started to issue electronic passports that were implanted with RFID. There were two main problems of privacy from it. Firstly, the US government is able to scan and track anyone with an electronic passport anywhere, which questions a person's right of privacy. Secondly, the use of RFID for passports may not be totally safe. Potential identity theft can occur when someone uses a RFID reader to scan data from a RFID chip without electronic passport holder's knowledge and when someone reads the frequency emitted by the RFID chip and scan it. Even though the US government reassures the public it is nearly impossible to steal their identity, scanning radio frequencies for information is not the hard.
Find more information about it here: http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/high-tech-gadgets/rfid.htm
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