A swipe card is a plastic card with a magnetic strip that has encoded information which can be read when the card is slid through an electronic card-reading device. Swipe cards are used in various ways, such as credit cards used to make purchases, swipe cards that work as keys to enter doors, and cards that can help companies keep track of workers time. When a swipe card touches or passes by the swipe-card reader, information is submitted to a central computer system to evaluate the information that was sent. Swipe cards can be used for fraudulent activities, such as card swiping scamming or card skimming, which involves stealing card information by using a device to illegally swipe and store the data. To protect yourself from becoming a victim of swiping cards scamming, there are several steps you can take, such as being aware of your surroundings when using your credit card and never giving out your credit card information to anyone. It is also important to use the chip reader for cards when available, as swiping chip cards immediately puts your business at risk.