But Don't Call It RFID

The real difference between the 2 technologies is the encoding,the distance the data can be retrieved over and the price point.

With RFID anyone with a reader can use the information, there is no real encryption and if you know the format you can decipher the data. Contactless chips are mini-storage devices that can require handshaking schemes and all sorts of encryption.

As for distance that the devices can be read over and through is also a huge differential. Contactless chips do not have to be inserted or touch something, but you have to be very close (less then 1 foot with no obstructions). RFID can be read through boxes and can be read over large distances (with the right gear you can read them over 50 meters).

The differences between the 2 technologies mean that a contactless chip is almost 100 times more expensive than RFID tags. A RFID tag will cost less then 5 cents per, great for high quantity use once. Contactless chips are FAR to expensive to use like this, but are fine for durable goods meant to be used over a decade, the current expiration date on a passport.

I read somewhere recently that US passports using this kind of technology could include a thin foil layer to prevent the chip from being read unless the passport was flipped open. That'd be good enough for me.

Some decent RF shielding would definitely help from a security standpoint. However I think that people don't have an understanding of the technology. There seams to be a (not unreasonable) fear of the identity theft that is becoming more and more mainstream and the perception that the more digital information there is, the easier it is to steal.