Experts find flaw in credit card chip security

Chip transactions are meant to make our credit cards more secure.

And in most cases they do. But what if that tiny piece of technology goes missing?

Experts warn that the chip in your credit card can fall out.

"They are on there pretty good, but over time, a lot of wear and tear, it could cause an issue with the underlying glue," Shawn Kanady of cybersecurity firm Trustwave said.

It's what happened to reporter Jason Knowles of our sister station WLS.

"I didn't realize for days because I was still allowed to swipe my card at many places with the magnetic stripe. When I called Chase, they told me I had to get a brand new card with an entirely new number. They said if someone found the chip on the ground, they could use it on another card," Kowles said.

Kanady says that it can happen with any credit card. He ran tests with two cards of his own to prove the chip hack can happen.

"I basically peeled off the chip of two cards and I swapped them. I then took that card to a retailer and ran a transaction. On the receipt, you could tell that it didn't match the card I actually used," Kanady said.

This isn't the first time possible security flaws have been exposed with chip cards.

'Shark Tank's' Robert Herjavec showed ABC's Rebecca Jarvis how special software on a cell phone can swipe someone's credit card info just by being very close to it.

"Simply by putting this near your purse, we're able to take your entire credit card information," Herjavec said.

The Electronic Transactions Association says the capturing of your card info is not so easily done because most consumers would be aware of a thief getting right next to their card.

And when it comes to losing your chip, Chase says it is rare to lose the entire chip or even a portion of it, but in either event, the say, "...we strongly suggest replacing the card with a new account and card..."

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