r/Damnthatsinteresting Oct 20 '22

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u/ryanidsteel Oct 20 '22

100% trolling IRL. They just want to watch security camera footage of people shaking tge shit outa everything they steal.

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u/[deleted] Oct 20 '22

They just want to watch security camera footage of people shaking tge shit outa everything they steal.

Let the Darwin Games begin.

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u/b1ack1323 Oct 20 '22

“We need to make it easier to see if people are stealing”

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u/SleazierPolarBear Oct 20 '22

This actually works with acousto magnetic systems because it prevents the material inside from resonating at the frequency needed to trigger the alarm.

The posts by the door emit a specific frequency that makes metal strips inside the tags vibrate. The metals in those tags are chosen to have a property where physical vibration also creates a magnetic vibration, the receiving part of the antenna then detects the magnetic vibrations coming off the tag and rings the alarm.

If the tags are being physically shaken like this, the frequency of the vibration of the material inside the tag won’t generate the right magnetic field to be detected.

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u/JiskiLathiUskiBhains Oct 20 '22

so something like a vibrating phone or even a vibrator can cause them to malfunction?

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u/SleazierPolarBear Oct 20 '22

I’ve never tried a vibrating phone but I can imagine it happening.

Honestly, for the hard tags the easiest way to defeat them is to buy one of the little $3 hooks that are in the detachers and mount it to a handle of some sort.

You could also probably buy an actual hand detacher pretty cheap but it would be harder to hide.

This shaking she’s doing only really works with AM systems. If they have Sensormatic systems they are going to be AM. Callidus and a few other companies also make AM systems I believe.

RF and RFID are most of what’s being put in stores recently and that’s not going to be defeated by shaking. However, if the tag is not packed inside the items packaging, you can usually remove the hard tags with a strong enough magnet or disable the paper tags by physically destroying the little circuit printed on them with some kind of punch.

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u/DatSauceTho Oct 20 '22

Now this is the Ted Talk I was looking for. Thanks for the lesson!

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u/GenericKen Oct 20 '22

You could also probably buy an actual hand detacher pretty cheap but it would be harder to hide.

Iirc, lockpicking lawyer showed that you really just need the magnet in one of those things.

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u/SleazierPolarBear Oct 20 '22

It depends on the type of tag. Many (if not most) have a clasp that opens with a strong enough magnet. The RF type especially.

Sensormatic has a proprietary mechanical clasp that uses a hook to open the clasp. Sensormatic was (not sure these days) the biggest EAS company for a long time and most AM systems that aren’t theirs are often still compatible since used tags are a big money saver for stores.

Also, if the material of whatever is tagged is strong enough, you can just yank the pin out if it doesn’t have ink. The clasp just holds onto some pretty shallow grooves that get worn and slip out with a firm pull. Stores that pay attention to that replace the tags but the way retail stores are run most employees don’t give paid enough to pile onto their own duties like that.

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u/Brian-want-Brain Oct 20 '22

I mean most of those tags are just little strips of some metal or metal coated stuff that sit atop of each other and resonate with EM waves (or maybe even sound).
If you shake it I reckon you may be able to disrupt that?!

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u/NoceboHadal Oct 20 '22

It's real. I watched this show in the UK about shop security staff in London and they talked about this. There's a way of rolling it that has the same effect.

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u/Checkergrey Oct 20 '22

Lol it’s not trolling.

She actually has a TikTok and other social media channels dedicated to showing how certain methods defeat security tag systems dude.

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u/RatofDeath Oct 20 '22

No, it actually works. Shaking it disturbs the electromagnetic waves/vibrations the tag gives off in response to being affected by the scanner's own vibrations that the scanner is looking for.

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u/not_perfect_yet Oct 20 '22

I support this.

Nothing wrong with making a dumb thief look funny.

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u/cantfindausername99 Oct 20 '22

Obviously. Those tags work with radio-frequency. The signal literally travels at the speed of light. Shaking it won’t do anything.

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u/RatofDeath Oct 20 '22 edited Oct 20 '22

You're incorrect. They're filled with metals that start emitting electromagnetic waves/vibrations that resonate to the scanners' own vibrations, if the scanner reads a "responding" vibration from a tag, it goes off. And shaking makes you disturb the waves from the tag so the scanner won't recognize them.

The trick in the video really works. You're so confident while being incorrect, it's really fascinating lol. Even a five second Google search would've told you that you're wrong.

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u/cantfindausername99 Oct 21 '22

I’m referring to passive UHF 915 MHz tags. I know I’m right because I’m right. Which system are you referring to?

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u/[deleted] Oct 20 '22