Supermarket security - is there a tag on EVERY item?
Posted by C-i-d@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 32 comments
I was in Tesco a week or so back and managed to set off the alarms on the way out, despite having paid for everything. I stood waiting for some security guard to barrel me to the ground, but no staff member seemed to care (notice even) and all I got was amused looks from other customers, presumably glad it was me not them standing there like a mug who'd bollocksed up a gameshow.
But it got me thinking: is there security tagging of some sort on every single item? I get it on expensive items obviously but it never occurred to me it might be on everything. I think the offending item in my case was a small packet of sandwich chicken that cost a couple of quid - I scanned it and bagged it at the self-service, and it was on the screen as scanned but the scales obviously didn't register it as the screen moaned. The Tesco woman appeared and just waved some card at it to silence my plaintive cries, but no other item caused any problem and I definitely didn't trouser a random Toblerone or something. But there's really security on a £2 pack of sandwich chicken?
It's actually quite impressive if it's on everything to be fair, though if it is I'd have thought that alarm would be going off all day long.
-Rhymenocerous-@reddit
Chances are if it was a big tesco. Someone would of been in the control room for CCTV watching.
They would of seen you on the wall of screens paying for your shopping and waiting around to be seen to.
I've taken an SIA Accredited CCTV course years ago (and only put it to work for 3 weeks lol)
Chances are they see you stop and wait. Then mooched out the store. You're trained to observe behaviours and patterns when you take one of these courses and they teach you that honest people dont wait around like you did. Also with a weeks worth of shopping they know youre taking food home to feed your family. Shoplifters either hide stuff inside items of clothing they've modified and it makes them walk a certain way. Like they're weighed down, evident on their clothing and the way it sits or they just go full crackhesd and smash as much shit into a trolley as they can and make a fucking dash for glory (which often gets tagged before they even get 20ft from the exit)
Chances are you dont look the part either. Awareness schemes in some (not all) towns will share info about known tea-leafs and theyll have photos of them on the wall.
Also take into mind most big Tescos have ANPR cameras since around 2006. So if youre of the sort that you dont pay your tax or MOT / insure your car. Their shark system will tip off the police
ingutek@reddit
why dont honest people wait? if i set the sensors off i look behind me or sometimes pause a bit..
-Rhymenocerous-@reddit
A good majority of the time if customers see security presence on the way in they'll often keep a receipt without thinking and will generally wait to produce it if challenged.
If youre a chancer at the self serves youll sometimes get away with it (sadly more often than not and believe it or not its cosmetic / beauty items that are often the most stolen items from supermarkets).
If youre just in there to steal as much as possible they'll mosey around looking down a few aisles then just generall spend 3x more time in one aisle they did all the others combined. If they make it to the front door without being caught theyll just keep walking if the alarm goes off. No head turn no nothing. Theyll often speed up a touch, unless its the pure crackheads with a trolley full of meat. Theyll often dash it out there as quick as possible
ingutek@reddit
Oh right, thanks for your detailed response Another thing is at my local Tesco I’ve set the alarm off a couple times and they’d stop me but then only tell me “check when you get home”, is this a normal thing or is it more of a “I don’t think you’re up to anything”? Was always after I slid them my massive shopping bag and they said they couldn’t look inside
C-i-d@reddit (OP)
Ah right, blimey, yeah none of that had crossed my mind at all. I think my mental image of how supermarket security works is probably quite out of date.
No-Jicama-6523@reddit
They can have them in a really cheap sticker. Probably on easy to steal stuff rather than everything. They don’t shout about it for obvious reasons.
C-i-d@reddit (OP)
Yeah that's what surprises me, I thought the cost to the shop would be more prohibitive so they'd restrict it to expensive stuff but I guess maybe not. Fair play to whoever invented the system.
DigitalStefan@reddit
RFID labels are really inexpensive
Whithorsematt@reddit
Soft tags are about a penny each. Clearly that's still a cost you don't want to have to pay on every item, but it's not much as a consumable.
ServerLost@reddit
My missus set those alarms off constantly, she was convinced her magnetic field was off or some such. Turns out no her mascara still had a Boots RFID label on and the scanners can't tell the difference.
Happy_Chief@reddit
It doesn't matter if you scanned it, unless the tag was also disabled/removed.
There will be some items of stock which are randomly tagged, I.e not every Toblerone would have a tag, but some might.
They say it slows down steal-to-order, but I don't believe it. Surely a visible tag is more of a deterrent?
C-i-d@reddit (OP)
I don't know, I think if I was a thief I'd be more bothered about hidden/random tags as it could be literally any item that set it off. Though obviously if no staff appear when the alarm goes off it's moot anyway.
Happy_Chief@reddit
And you simply leg it
Akash_nu@reddit
Apparently the supermarkets will also not stop a thief unless they’re easy targets.
Jaded_Leg_46@reddit
Sainsbury's kids clothes used to set off the alarms even if they removed the tag, now I wonder if there were extra tags. I got home once to find a bulky tag on some alcohol and it didn't set the alarm off and I'd use the tills.
Longjumping-Bet-5358@reddit
It’s usually selective tagging not everything. Items like meat and alcohol often have those thin security labels built into packaging. Your chicken probably had one and the self checkout didn’t properly clear it
C-i-d@reddit (OP)
Yeah this is a TIL for me today, had no idea this existed.
estanmilko@reddit
Rub the sticker on the packing shelf at the self checkout before you bag it, that deactivates them.
starsandbribes@reddit
If that was your more expensive item, then no, looks like it was an error or someone nearby. Only food that should register is maybe things like steaks
C-i-d@reddit (OP)
I bought a half leg of lamb in the same shop, and as you can imagine that was a lot more expensive than the chicken. I guess it's possible that was what set it off and there was simply a cock up with the technology, because I scanned it, bagged it, paid and had it on the receipt.
Batalfie@reddit
Library books can set off the sensors, I learnt this the hard way
twonaq@reddit
I’ve got one of those RFID blocking wallets, that sets off tescos alarm
qash001@reddit
Whether you scanned an item or not is irrelevant, scanning it doesn't magically remove any tag.
C-i-d@reddit (OP)
I thought the way these EAS tags work is they're active by default, but scanning them deactivates them (don't ask me how) and when deactivated they don't set the alarm off. That's what some video I watched earlier said anyway. It sounds plausible.
Nonbinary_Cryptid@reddit
I always thought it was some kind of magnet that deactivated them.
midoristorm@reddit
When I worked in Tesco the checkout scanners did deactivate the flat stick-on security tags, so it depends on the type. Only the bulky type required removing.
Few_Theme_1505@reddit
It’s usually RFID or magnetic strips on selected items, not everything. Meat and cheese get targeted a lot because they’re easy to resell or expensive for their size. Your chicken theory actually makes sense here.
marco7532@reddit
For standard barcoded items, no there is not an alarm or security if you go past the barriers. The barriers work by emitting an electromagnetic or RF signal to which if a corresponding tag has not been disarmed / removed at the checkout, the alarm will sound
Supermarkets sometimes put their own stick on tags (soft tags) on top of higher priced items, or you’ll find the standard hard tags on bigger items like alcohol or clothing etc.
indigo263@reddit
No, there aren't tags on everything but some products come in pre-tagged (like steak) and they're usually underneath the barcode. They're supposed to deactivate when scanned but it doesn't always happen...
geekroick@reddit
No.
Either a physical tag is attached or an RFID sticker.
If there's no sign of either... It's not tagged.
a2021username@reddit
is there security tagging of some sort on every single item?
No. No one has time for this. Some bigger stores can carry up to 30,000 skus. This would be a massive effort.
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