Shop alarms

[redsturgeon]

For the last few days I have been setting them off, walking in and out of any store with an alarm.

Today it happened at Sainsburys (again) and the security man stopped me for the first time. I told them what was happening and I pushed the trolley through the alarm to show nothing was in there that was triggering it.

I then walked through and off it went. I then took out my wallet and waved that through and I found the source of the issue...sort of.

My wallet triggers the alarm. It contains nothing but cash and credit cards...any ideas?

John

[Calcarius]

You stole the wallet on a previous occasion...

[PinkDalek]

My wallet triggers the alarm. It contains nothing but cash and credit cards...any ideas?

John

You are one of those who is concerned about your cards being skimmed and have them surrounded with an RFID blocking aluminium credit card wallet, which sets off the alarm.

Alternatively, you've had a skinful in advance of your visit to the GBBF and the sensors can smell the (not bought) alcohol.

Unless your gold plated Amex card carrying wallet is causing it. It might be an urban myth but I've read that magnetic strips within certain wallets can trigger the alarms.

[redsturgeon]

My wallet triggers the alarm. It contains nothing but cash and credit cards...any ideas?

John

You are one of those who is concerned about your cards being skimmed and have them surrounded with an RFID blocking aluminium credit card wallet, which sets off the alarm.

Alternatively, you've had a skinful in advance of your visit to the GBBF and the sensors can smell the (not bought) alcohol.

Unless your gold plated Amex card carrying wallet is causing it. It might be an urban myth but I've read that magnetic strips within certain wallets can trigger the alarms.

Just wear the occasional tinfoil hat but none in the wallet.

I feel I may have to stand by the alarm and wave the content through one at a time until I find the culprit.

John

[Slarti]

I feel I may have to stand by the alarm and wave the content through one at a time until I find the culprit.

Clear it with the security bod first as you will look just a bit suspicious


Slarti

[pochisoldi]

My wallet triggers the alarm. It contains nothing but cash and credit cards...any ideas?

John

You are one of those who is concerned about your cards being skimmed and have them surrounded with an RFID blocking aluminium credit card wallet, which sets off the alarm.

Alternatively, you've had a skinful in advance of your visit to the GBBF and the sensors can smell the (not bought) alcohol.

Unless your gold plated Amex card carrying wallet is causing it. It might be an urban myth but I've read that magnetic strips within certain wallets can trigger the alarms.

Just wear the occasional tinfoil hat but none in the wallet.

I feel I may have to stand by the alarm and wave the content through one at a time until I find the culprit.

John

Try another set of detection loops at the same store (different set of doors, different pair of doors, entrance to the toilets, entrance to the customer cafe). If it doesn't trigger the alarm then it's the specific door loops which are faulty, not your wallet.

In any case, at the end of the day, it's their crap security system that's having a false alarm.

My money would be on two or more things in your wallet interacting together with the detection system.

PochiSoldi

[jfgw]

It could be the cumulative effect of the metallic strips in all of the fifty-pound notes in the wallet.

I suggest you empty the contents of the wallet onto a big table and then check every pocket, including the ones you didn't know existed, for anything that might activate the alarm.

Julian F. G. W.

[redsturgeon]

It could be the cumulative effect of the metallic strips in all of the fifty-pound notes in the wallet.

I suggest you empty the contents of the wallet onto a big table and then check every pocket, including the ones you didn't know existed, for anything that might activate the alarm.

Julian F. G. W.

I only had one fifty, some other cash, receipts, driving license and then about ten credit/debit cards.

What is it on the cards that gets picked up by the alarm, is it the chip or the magnetic strip?

John

[RedSnapper]

Seems to me the chips on your cards are the most likely culprits. They operate on NFC which is essentially the same as the RFID tech that store security tags use. The detectors stimulate the tag in the same sort of way that a contactless reader stimulates the chip on your card so not beyond imagination that the detector might trigger your card's NFC. I wonder whether having quite a few in your wallet somehow amplifies the signal?

[tea42]

Do YOU contain any metal bits?

[Watis]

Do YOU contain any metal bits?

Don't laugh - a friend always sets off airport scanners. They pat him down and find nothing.

Then he owns up to the titanium pin in his tibia.

Watis

[Howard]

It could be the cumulative effect of the metallic strips in all of the fifty-pound notes in the wallet.

I suggest you empty the contents of the wallet onto a big table and then check every pocket, including the ones you didn't know existed, for anything that might activate the alarm.

Julian F. G. W.

I only had one fifty, some other cash, receipts, driving license and then about ten credit/debit cards.

What is it on the cards that gets picked up by the alarm, is it the chip or the magnetic strip?

John

This may be off topic and don't answer if you don't want to. But do you really need 10 credit/debit cards? Perhaps worth culling 3 or 4?

Regards

Howard

(I'm feeling a bit inadequate as I only have 5, including ((shame)) my Tesco Clubcard)

[Itsallaguess]

I'm feeling a bit inadequate as I only have 5, including ((shame)) my Tesco Clubcard...

If it makes you feel any better then, I only carry three, and due to me never using a wallet (and hence carrying my cards in my front pocket when I do actually take them out of the house), I only really use two of those (Tesco and Morrisons club-cards...) to protect the single debit-card that I actually own, that sits in the middle of the other two in my pocket. I use the outer two for protection really, to save the middle debit-card getting scratched by keys or coins....

I've never owned a credit-card at all. I did ask my bank for one once many years ago, when I was about 17, and they refused me on the grounds of not having a good enough 'history'. I felt bad at the time, as all my peers seemed to be getting them left right and centre...

As it happens, I seem to have managed quite well without one ever since, but it's amusing that on the odd occasion when I have to physically go into my bank, they now seem very keen for me to carry out some sort of 'financial review', and by the way, 'we've noticed that you don't currently have a credit-card with us, and we'd be pleased to offer you one as part of your review, if you'd only like to please step this way...'

No thanks....I'm fine......

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

[redsturgeon]

It could be the cumulative effect of the metallic strips in all of the fifty-pound notes in the wallet.

I suggest you empty the contents of the wallet onto a big table and then check every pocket, including the ones you didn't know existed, for anything that might activate the alarm.

Julian F. G. W.

I only had one fifty, some other cash, receipts, driving license and then about ten credit/debit cards.

What is it on the cards that gets picked up by the alarm, is it the chip or the magnetic strip?

John

This may be off topic and don't answer if you don't want to. But do you really need 10 credit/debit cards? Perhaps worth culling 3 or 4?

Regards

Howard

(I'm feeling a bit inadequate as I only have 5, including ((shame)) my Tesco Clubcard)

I was being a little free with my descriptions of "credit/debit cards but it includes:

- main bank account debit card

- main credit card

- second credit card

- foreign exchange we swap debit card

- business credit card

- business debit card

- casino membership card

- booker wholesaler ID card

- oyster card

- nectar card

So not really excessive

John

[Howard]

You may know this already but I can suggest one card to "cull".

I recently made a rail trip which involved crossing London and found that a contactless card worked as a substitute for an oyster card when travelling on the tube. This discovery has slightly reduced the thickness of my wallet.

Not sure if this will reduce the chance of setting off an alarm.

As an aside, I was very impressed with the need for a the Casino card. Is it Gold or Platinum?

regards

Howard

[Infrasonic]

As mentioned upthread it's probably the chips in the cards triggering as the store detectors are set up for the RFID security tags.
The foil wallet idea or just DIY with some kitchen foil should solve the issue. (I do the latter as I'm a cheapskate...)

One of the techniques used by 'professional' shoplifters to get around the RFID security is foil lined carrier bags...

Edit: You can use the same 'faraday cage' technique to protect your electronic car key fobs from 'relay' car theft. Just line an ice cream tub or similar with foil and use it as a key drop box in the house.

[melonfool]

This has started happening to my mum. I took her to Sainsbury last week and as we left the alarm went off and I said oh, have they not taken a tag off that coffee maker? She said no, I keep doing that, it's just me.

She just walks on as if it's not happened.

She doesn't carry much, my dad carries the cards, and I had my full handbag and I didn't cause it as we went out slightly separately.

I have titanium staples in my ex-gall bladder, but they don't set off airport monitors. I suspect mum does have some metal though as she had a bad car accident years ago and had a number of operations.

Re Oyster vs debit card, I prefer my Oyster card. I don't want my debit card in my coat pocket when I am travelling, and I don't want to have to dig around in my purse for my debit card to get out of the Tube. I also prefer that with Oyster it's far easier to see your journey history online and print a dedicated receipt (without having to print your whole bank statement) and if you have any 'unfinished' journeys (which happens more than you would expect, when you use the Tube daily) it's easier to spot them and get Oyster to do something about them. I don;t know how that works if you use contactless.


Anyway, I reckon it's just a card chip somewhere.

Mel

[pochisoldi]

Re Oyster vs debit card, I prefer my Oyster card. I don't want my debit card in my coat pocket when I am travelling, and I don't want to have to dig around in my purse for my debit card to get out of the Tube. I also prefer that with Oyster it's far easier to see your journey history online and print a dedicated receipt (without having to print your whole bank statement) and if you have any 'unfinished' journeys (which happens more than you would expect, when you use the Tube daily) it's easier to spot them and get Oyster to do something about them. I don;t know how that works if you use contactless.

If you register your contactless cards online (using your existing Oyster card account) you can get the same journey history info.

I tend to use contactless now, but having a separate Oyster card can be useful on (very) odd occasions, where you want to deliberately split a journey.Using a single card can sometimes result in TfL trying to be over helpful by linking what you think are two single journeys into one, and then charging a "didn't touch out penalty" followed by a "didn't touch in penalty" instead of two single fares. Deliberately using two cards avoids this.

PochiSoldi