Pistol sets off inventory loss alarm?

[dralarms]

I work in the alarm industry and I go into literly 1000's of places with my equipment. I was in an Auto Zone not to long ago and my 10 year old drill kit (that I might add has been in this store before) set off their stupid shoplifting alarm. Sometimes it's not you it's the equipment.

Then there was the time I bought my son a new pair of work boots, at Kmart, they deactivated the tag (I was there), went through the system and nothing happened. Then every store he went into for 2 months he was setting off their equipment, coming and going. Finally got tired of the problem (doesn't look goo dfor the security company employee to set those things off all the time. Went to my local Auto zone (yes I spend alot of time in there) and ask the mgr to help find what was causing the problem. Told me to have him take his shoes off and toss them through the "gate" and sure enough it set them off, he deactivated them and no more problems, ever.

I wonder if different stores have different tags and some manufactures put both of them in the same article since both places buy the same stuff?

 

[chipperi]

You know now that you said that. I work for a Printing company and we were running the paper packaging that goes inside blister packs for san-disk flash drives and there were two spots for the placement of those tags. One was marked Sensormatic and I can remember what the other was labeled. But your theory is a good one.

 

[Tharg]

My old keycard for the badge readers at Sprint would set off the alarms at the video store every time. Sometimes i'd do it for fun... "hey... its fixin to beep, be sure to turn it off".

The base inside these things is a kind of RFID w/ a lil bitty chip and a coil of copper around the outside of the badge. (just inside the plastic)

My new one's at my new job haven't set anything off yet. Maybe they operate on a different frequency.

All that being said... i can't say how many times they stopped me at the door and re-did the magical make your DVD you just bought not set off the alarm thing.

 

[BikerRN]

I decided that I would let them search me, but I would tell them not to touch my gun. IF they feel that is necessary, I will tell them I will wait right there until a Commissioned Peace Officer arrives to search me.

I am not a lawyer, and I didn't sleep in a Holiday Inn Express last night but I would not mention the word firearm or consent to a search by any store employee. Your state laws may be different, but I doubt it. Nobody is putting their hands on me, except another LEO or a loved one.

If you mention firearm to the store emplyee you have a good chance of them calling in a "Man With A Gun" call. What I would do is stop and explain that I didn't shoplift anything and that their machine must be faulty or that the clerk that rang you up didn't "demagnetize" whatever the heck it is you bought. I would then say something like, "If you feel that I need to be searched please call a Law Enforcement Officer. In fact I will call for you, or you can even use my phone." You can offer to let them look through your bags, I do that, but like I said, they are not putting their hands on me.

If you didn't steal anything chances are you would have the grounds for a great lawsuit and "own" the store so to speak if they did put their hands on you or called the Police. Your state laws may be different, talk to your local attorney.

Biker

 

[zoom6zoom]

Most of them are NOT RFID tags - the tags are just a printed coil or bimetalic strip that causes a disruption in the electrical field that the plates at the side of the door generate. Even cheaper than RFID.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_article_surveillance

 

[dralarms]

I had a roll of 22/4 stranded alarm wire set one off today, coming in only. Guess I took enough wire off the roll while ther so it changed it's properties going out.

 

[Firethorn]

Sometimes stores without security systems will still get merchandise with the tags - and won't bother to deactivate the stuff because they don't have the alarms to go off. Most of the time they won't even have the disabler system, so they can't turn them off.

One of the stores in the local mall had such a problem with items bought from another shop at the mall that they put a sign up stating the situation- and that they'll gladly disable any of the devices that set off their alarms.

 

[2RCO]

1 word Tungsten.

Many stores use Tungsten strips on items and these are what set off the alarms. Your gun might have some tungsten in it and this may be the problem.

 

[armedandsafe]

My right leg sets them off. I can always tell when the maintenance gets done at the door scanners at two of the shops in town, as I set them off going into each store for about 2 weeks. We did some experiments and decided it is probably the shrapnel in my leg (wearing shorts, no shoes, no shirt, nothing in pockets, no glasses - still pings me.)

Pops

 

[10 Ring Tao]

Definitely not metal detectors, they're RFID or coil detectors.

I had one hidden in a ball cap, and I would always set those damn things off until I narrowed it down to that hat, and found the little bugger.

 

[det.pat]

when one of these things goes off and the walmartian scurries over to me i always tell them "it's my sidearm, it always sets these things off" that always sets them back on their heels and sometimes even makes them scurry back into their dens without comment. i did have one older gentleman with a ruptured duck pin on his cap laugh at me.

mpi

 

[Mortech]

Geez a simple google search will tell you how they work , most of the time when either the wife or i have set off the detectors its because some of the shoplifter have become proficient at finding and removing the tags and usually just drop them on the floor . One jokester actually attached them to shopping carts , usually we find them stuck to the bottom of our shoes .

How RFID tags really work
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RFID

 

[zeroskillz]

It is far more likely that it was your cell or pager setting it off, not your gun.

 

[hotpig]

My old cell phone used to set of the alarm at Wally World. I always kept walking because I know that they do not have Loss Control there.