{
  "id": 2130371,
  "title": "Researchers found a way to bring expired credit cards back from the dead",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/20/researchers-found-a-way-to-bring-expired-credit-cards-back-from-the",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-08-20T12:13:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "TechSpot",
    "slug": "techspot",
    "url": "https://www.techspot.com/news/113546-researchers-found-way-bring-expired-credit-cards-back.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Researchers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst have discovered a method to reactivate expired credit cards, allowing them to be used for unauthorized transactions. This vulnerability exists primarily in contactless payments, which can be exploited through two smartphones and some emulation software to bypass security measures. The flaw lies in Visa's implementation, where the card's expiration date is not cryptographically linked to the Application Expiration Date verified by the POS terminal. As a result, an attacker can manipulate the local expiration date without detection. While Mastercard, American Express, and Discover have shown resistance to this attack, Visa cards remain vulnerable. To protect themselves, users are advised to properly dispose of expired cards by demagnetizing the magnetic strip, cutting the chip into pieces, and securely disposing of each part in separate trash cans.",
  "summary": "Being unable to use a credit card to pay for your groceries is annoying enough. It's worse when a \"zombie\" card claws its way back to life and bites you in the bank account. According to researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, there's a way to abuse an already-expired... Read Entire Article",
  "key_points": [
    "Researchers at University of Massachusetts discovered method to reactivate expired credit cards.",
    "Visa cards specifically vulnerable due to expiration date not linked to POS terminal verification."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}