NEW YORK—Looking to buy just the right item with those gift cards you received during the holidays? How about “hack-proof” pants?
A new line of clothing is being sold that promises to protect the wearer from “digital identify theft” by blocking electronic scanners that could otherwise steal consumers’ card data even while cards are still in one’s pockets.
Available from the crowdfunding site Betabrand.com, the “Ready Jeans” are protected by Norton and contain two pockets lined with special RFID-blocking fabric, which shields credit cards from scanning, according to the company.
At press time the jeans were retailing for $151.20 on Betabrand.com, with an additional 10% discount for ordering before the crowdfunding deadline. A woman’s blazer is also available offering the same protections.
The scan-proof apparel was created by Steven B. Wheeler, a San Francisco-based designer who says on the Betabrand.com site that he spent "countless hours hunched over his mother's Kenmore sewing machine" as a child.
Wheeler said he was motivated to create the clothes after learning that more than 10-million identities are “digitally pick-pocketed” every year by wireless scanners.
For those considering buying the apparel, the jeans are 88% cotton, 10% poly and 2% spandex.
At press time, Ready Jeans was reporting it was 176% of the way toward its crowdfunding goal.
