RFID Tags on Mach3 Razorblades Snap Your Photo

peteo writes "Think RFID tags are harmless? Look at how they are being used in the UK: "At the Tesco Cambridge store, a camera trained on the Gillette blade shelf, and triggered by RFID tags, captures a photo of each customer who removes a Mach3 pack. Another photo is taken at the checkout and security staff compare the two images to ensure they always have a pair" According to the spokesman,"there are certainly not any privacy concerns" in relation to these tags. He adds that there is plenty of in-store signage indicating the supermarket's use of CCTV cameras. ""

Buh-wah?

When were razor blades so valuable to warrant this?

Re:Buh-wah?

In my local grocery store they were such a frequently-stolen item that they had to be removed from the aisles. Now, if you want a pack of Mach3s you have to go up to the pharmacy and get them to hand them to you personally.

That is, of course, after you show two forms of picture ID, at least one showing you with a beard. They then perform a cursory measurement of your existing stubble and review your past purchases of razor blades to determine whether you actually need the blades or not. Cap it all off with an American-as-apple-pie dirty look and you've got your shopping experience.

-jason

Re:Buh-wah?

Just another reason to switch to a straight razor.
I did. Now I am sitting in this cell at the airport.

A losing battle against facial hair...

I shave sometimes with a razor, sometimes with an electric shaver. The Mach3 blades cost something on the order of about 15 USD for five.

All this for something that you're using to cut off a part of yourself that grows back in a short time.:P

Before even taking into account physiological differences due to genetics, no matter how much you spend on the blades, you're going to have to shave again tomorrow (some men even sooner). Which is why I gave up the price battle and just use an electric razor for most times, and a pack of the cheap safety razors around for use other times. If my body is going to force me to spend money, I'll certainly make it as little as possible.

Neck-beard UNIX guru

I've always thought that if I could grow a reasonable looking beard that didn't irritate the hell out of me, it could be worth a few thousand more in the job market.

A solid beard lets you look sage while stroking it and giving a measured Hmmm and a nod, while you try to figure out what the hell to do next.

Alternately I could extend my moustache to a Fu Manchu and try out for the next Evil Overlord position that opens up. (I've got the laugh, but an extreme moustache is a job requirement, bastards.)

Re:A losing battle against facial hair...

Razor Blades, in my mind, fall somewhere around cigarettes and crack. I asked for a pack as a stocking stuffer last Christmas and was promptly told that things that sell for $25 deserve their own box.

The solution:

The best shave [gentlemans-shop.co.uk] is with an open razor.

It's a lot of fun, too. Not to mention a lot of time and effort -- but if you have the time the results over electric and the Mach 3 are nothing short of fantastic.

Re:They are...

Pack of four costs me US$8, pack of eight costs US$12.

When they're in stock. And they *are* placed at the checkout lines (though at the Ralph's where I shop, they're out so you don't have to ask for them, provided there are any left in stock), which has reduced shoplifting but the damned things are so popular that I've taken to shopping for the eight packs when I can and looking for replacements when I start in on the second cartridge of four.

The Mach3 has got to be one of the best examples of taking a common product and making a seemingly simple change that makes the product indispensible overnight. I picked one up a few months after they came out, and I can't believe I used to put up with other razors. Now if I use a normal two-blade razor, even one of the better ones, I tend to see shaving nicks all over the place. I know of a lot of women that use the Mach3 (or its successor for women, the Venus3) as well because it's less likely to leave nicks on their legs and under their arms.

Re:They are...

Blockquoth the poster:

The worst part is that I tried to downgrade to a cheaper shaver. It seems that they not as good and do not hold as long...

The funny thing is, this is preceded by

It is totally outrageous. Talk about a monopoly!

Of course, these statements are essentially contradictory. Obviously Gillette does not have a monopoly, because there exist alternatives. They apparently offer a superior product, but at a higher cost. The whole point of the free market is, you get to choose what you pay for. If the cheaper blades were as good, people would move to that system and Gillette's price would come down.

Are you alleging that Gillette somehow uses its market presence to squeeze out the other players?

Not every high price indicates the boogey-man of "monopoly". Higher quality sometimes demands higher price.

Re:They are...

Higher quality sometimes demands higher price.

Damn straight. After using the Mach3, going back to ordinary razors just didn't cut it.

Waitrose have a camera on the razor blades...

I only know this because they have a do it yourself barcode scanner for shopping and razor blades always come up as "Declare to cashier".

Last week I asked why. The cashier said it's because kids go in and steal them a lot, then come back the next day and ask for the money back (a pack of 8 is rather expensive, and they are easy to slip into pockets). So Waitrose watch the blades carefully and always check reciepts.

Re:Waitrose have a camera on the razor blades...

Most Dutch supermarkets simply have the razor blades along with the cigarettes at a seperate counter (along with batteries etc.)

I'd also be suspicious of a kid (which makes me think of up to 12 or so rather than 16) returning razor blades anyway!

Welcome back sir!

Seeing as this is the fourth time this month you've purchased genital wart cream, perhaps you'd be better off moving up to Genwartrexol?

Is this really so much worse...

...than plain old CCTV? Alright, so it's a little unsettling to think of someone with a photo of you taking something off the shelf comparing it with other photos to see if you bought the thing... but odds are if there's a CCTV camera then they're watching you as you take things off the shelf then, too.

Hmm. Doing this without telling people, however, is certainly cause for objection... there should be a sign of some sort, I suppose...

I would imagine that legally it doesn't require anything more than 'CCTV in use on these premesis', since the camera would have been there anyway...?

Re:Is this really so much worse...

Possibly - here, they're demonstrating the ability to link your identity with what you buy, and fairly automatically, en masse. Potentially, this could allow the authorities to track practically every "new" object you bought. Imagine if five years down the line, the police raid your house because they suspect you of something, and then they look at the RFID tags of lots of items in your house, and are able to tell exactly who bought what item and when (from their big database that's full of dates, times, photos, places, lists of items, etc). Or they might just simply keep track of all the stuff you're buying over a set period of time and then start drawing conclusions from it.

My understanding at the moment is that you do have to display a sign in the UK if you're filming the public. I doubt you have to do anything extra if you're attempting to link this footage with what's being taken off your shelves too though. It's no doubt being rolled out all over the place already.

I've already quit my job to avoid having a need for one of those identity cards, I've already sent back my driving license and made do with a push bike to stop them tracking me by my number plate, and I got my mobile crushed last week. Looks like I'm going to have to start an allotment now too!

Re:Is this really so much worse...

Possibly - here, they're demonstrating the ability to link your identity with what you buy, and fairly automatically, en masse. Potentially, this could allow the authorities to track practically every "new" object you bought.

Um... Most of the major supermarket chains in the UK, including Tesco and Sainsburys, have a "loyalty card" scheme that allows them to do just that, in exchange for a small discount on your shopping. These are used to target advertising, adjust product lines according to customer demand, etc. They don't tell you in as many words that this is what the cards are for, but everyone with an ounce of brain matter knows it, no-one really makes a secret of it at the stores, and it seems the vast majority of their customers voluntarily get such a card, supplying the required information in exchange for a discount.

So yes, they can theoretically track every new purchase you make, as long as you use the card with it. That's the whole point. If you don't like that, don't get the card, but the vast majority of people don't seem to care.

I'm curious to know what they gain by this arrangement, though. There are already scanners on the door at that Tesco (my local branch, half a mile from my home) that are supposed to detect anyone walking out with security tagged goods that haven't been paid for, and a security guard by the door. (The same is true of pretty much every major supermarket over here, and most high street clothing stores etc. where there's a big risk of theft.) What does this gain them, a picture if someone manages to get through the alarmed section and past the guard without setting them off? In that case, what if someone else picked up the tagged item, got photographed, and then replaced it on the shelf, prior to a second person stealing them? Oo-er, doesn't sound promising. Maybe I'll just buy my razors from Sainsburys (the other big supermarket, half a mile in the other direction) instead...

Re:Is this really so much worse...

You'd be less afraid of this if you knew the horrid state most government computer systems are in.

I imagine this theoretical database would be the most horrible conglomeration of utter shit you'd ever have seen. The chances of any useful searches being done on it would be nearly nil, considering what the average government dweeb is like.

This doesn't scare me much actually, nor do I care if a store wants to film me while I buy things. I got accused of theft by some rent-a-cop back when I was about 18 - this would have assured that experience would have never happened. I still hope that guy develops a nasty case of genital warts nonetheless.

Re:Is this really so much worse...

I am tempted, should this arrive at my local Tesco, to carefully put the damn things in my basket, smiling for the camera, walk to another aisle, and put them on another shelf. Just out of interest, am I deemed to have bought them when I pick them up, or when I go through the checkout?

Re:Is this really so much worse...

I imagine that you are logged when picking up the razorblades, and again when you pay for them. I guess that any discrepancy is flagged and you picture is added to a list of 'suspicious characters'. According to an article in the Guardian yesterday, Tesco say that they store the pictures 'temporarily'.

What you could do is consistently pick up the razorblades every time you visit, place them on another shelf whilst you are shopping and check out without buying them. Then, write to Tesco's Data Controller and ask if they are holding any information on you. Tell them what you have been doing and state that you believe they might have a photo of you. Pay the £10 charge and supply a photo of yourself to help them check. If a few thousand customers did this, they would probably find running the scheme very expensive. They might also be unable to respond within a reasonable time (not sure if there is a statutory response time). That would then put them in breach of Data Protection law.

Re:There's a flaw here...

Or what happens when a family are shopping and adult A picks up the razor blades, decides they don't want them and gets child B to return them. Then they get to the checkout and realise they do need them, so they get child C to fetch a new pack - and finally adult D pays for the goods.
That's really going to screw up any "photographic auditing" system!

Most stolen item in Britain

Tin foil hat privacy issues aside, the reason for this is because Gilette Mach 3 Razor Blades are the most shoplifted item in Britain [smh.com.au]. This is due to Gilette's "strategy" of giving away the razors and charging through the nose for the blades.

Re:Most stolen item in Britain

Which is why us Canadians figured it out. We put the noname razors on shelves and the expensive super-uber-quality gilettes behind the counter. Whoa.

Though I agree with another poster. It is just a scam. I mean you can buy 100x the weight in metal for the same price... there is a problem :-)

Which is why people shouldn't shave. Too much hassle and really does it matter? Stop feeding stupi corporate three-razor extra-close super-smooth this bitch will fuck you if you use them razor companies.

Tom

Don't worry

Just shave before the checkout and you won't get caught.

Obvious problem

Am I the only person who changes his mind when he's at a shop, and occasionally puts something back?

Is everyone who picks something up, decides they prefer to get a 12 pack, or the cheap disposable, or whatever, going to get investigated by the police?

Re:Obvious problem

Not unless you maul the package, take out the rfid chip, and hide it in your sock. If you put it back, the store knows, because hey look, the 8 pack of blades just showed up back in stock. If you put it down elsewhere, the RFID reader at the door never sees it leave, so it never sounds the alarm.

Besides, it won't be long before they can track items anywhere in the store with RFID, at which point when you put your 8 pack of blades in with the potato chips, they'll send a stock boy out to put 'em back.

Re:Obvious problem

That is the same problem as hotel automated mini-bars, and one of the long standing ob electronic people jokes - removing all the items from the minibar then putting them all back.

Needless to say its very hard for the manager to explain the automated bar bill that appears as a result.

The police aren't the only problem with RFID though. If I have the RFID data for a range of products I can do several things that favour the criminal - consider a mugger sitting with a PDA zapping people going past and getting valuations on them..

Estimated $350
Notes:
Take the ring, take the phone

[OK] [CANCEL]

Teenage kids (or bad newspapers) using RFID to obtain the colours of passing womens underwear and bra size is at least merely going to irritate rather than get people targetted.

There's the end of shopping with your SO

Suddently splitting up and asking your significant other to pick something up for you in a different part of a store warrants a crime.

- Serge Wroclawski

Re:There's the end of shopping with your SO

Suddently splitting up and asking your significant other to pick something up for you in a different part of a store warrants a crime.

The thing is, it doesn't. If they build a technical mechanism to catch shoplifters and that mechanism isn't reliable, it's not your problem. "Crime" is a concept defined by law, not technology.

Sure, they might not want to give you this impression, but it's their responsibility to prove that you are guilty of something and if their technology can't give enough proof, the technology is nothing more but a way to scare people. Picking something from a shelf may be proof in some cases, in some cases it isn't.

If you know that you've not stolen anything (which should be rather easy to know...), stand up for your rights if you're accused of something.

Re:There's the end of shopping with your SO

If you know that you've not stolen anything (which should be rather easy to know...), stand up for your rights if you're accused of something.

Yeah, because people are never wrongfully accused, or convicted, based on incomplete or even entirely false evidence.

Personally, I can't afford the legal fees I'd need just to be able to shop in the UK. I take things off shelves all the time and put them back in the wrong place.

well...

I, for one, welcome our new razor blade overlords!

Simple solution

When you go shopping, always have an accomplice - (s)he picks up the blades, hands them to you somewhere else in the store, and you take them to the checkout.

Of course, this would happen 'accidentally' quite often anyway, but it's always good to make more trouble for stupid schemes like this.

PILLAGE AND PLUNDER!

So, what would happen if we round up 30+ slashdotters and have all of them pillage the rack of razor blades, only to put them all back and pillage some more? You know, with a bunch of beach balls and a large amount of beer we could have a great time while pillaging razorblades!

Technological approach again

[This trial] is not to do with security or theft, it is a supply chain trial."

But they then say security staff use it. So what is it for? What supply chain information does it give them that they can't get from the till receipts?

My local supermarket (Safeways, Shepherds Bush) had huge shoplifting problems with razor blades. Rather than implementing this (presumably expensive) scheme, they took the simple step of moving the blades behind the counter at the store pharmacy. Shoplifting drops overnight, no added cost and no privacy concerns.

Why ?

For preventing theft, the RFID tag would be enough alone.
So why do they need the photos for ?
Marketing ? But for customer group identification one photo would be sufficient.

What if you take it back later?

I don't know how it is set up, but does it also take your picture if you put it back later? Otherwise the picture on the checkout will register you as a thief..
God , i would love to be able to make trouble about that. If you live in England , try it and if they mark you as a thief then unleash all your fury. (and i don't mean "Slashdot reader mode" fury. i mean "Quake 3 mayhem mode" fury).

Scenario

• Customer #1 picks up a pack of Gillettes.
  
• Customer #1 decides against buying it while in the cereal aisle, dumps it there.
  
• Customer #2, also in the cereal aisle, decides to get a pack of Gillettes, spots the rogue pack, picks it up.
  
• Both proceed to their respective checkouts...
  
• 
  What happens now?

Re:Scenario

If you read the article, you'd know the whole thing is supervised by human operators. It isn't a case that a machine automatically matches faces and raises an alarm.

Well, even if you didn't read the article, you've got to realize that there will be a human in the loop somewhere. We aren't quite up to replacing security guards with ED-209 yet.

Robot: "HALT. PRESENT RECEIPT. YOU HAVE TEN SECONDS TO COMPLY."
Customer: "It's right here."
Robot: "YOU NOW HAVE FIVE SECONDS TO COMPLY."
Customer: "It... It's right here!"
Robot: "3...2...1... I AM NOW AUTHORIZED TO PREVENT SHOPLIFTING WITH PHYSICAL FORCE." (gatling guns spin up)
Customer: "Aaahhh!!!"

Re:Scenario

Customer #1 decides against buying it while in the cereal aisle, dumps it there.

...

What happens now?

Customer #1 gets rightfully punished. I hated that when I worked in a grocery store. The worst thing was the wankers who would decide they didn't want a cut of meat, then drop it any old place to warm up and become unfit for consumption.

I know, your time is valuable, blah blah blah, but it's damned rude and inconsiderate.

Cigarettes

You have to wonder why they don't just put them behind the counter, as with cigarettes.

Is it some kind of subtle lure? Do they fear the drop in sales resulting from the less control of POS presentation? How would that stack up against the losses from shoplifting?

Collecting RFID for further shopping

I'm now going to make sure I keep all RFID tags I find, and each time I go buy some new blades I'll take them along to swapping their sensors... ;-)

Why is this not harmless?

So, you mean instead of training a camera on you continuously as you shop, now they can capture only a few key moments?

You'd think people would be declaring this a privacy *win* since you'll be video taped less now, and only at the points that matter.

Re:Honestly,

CCTV is used very widely in the United Kingdom and it is fairly well posted on signage going into to stores. But even outside of shop fronts in the United Kingdom entire high towns can be under CCTV. The debate was fought awhile ago here in the United Kingdom and because of IRA threats and a constant belief in any culture that crime is always worse than it used to be, people generally supported the idea of CCTV and recorded imagery used for security and police use.

But RFID adds so many issues, the fact is the rfid is unique and can be followed back to your residence if you have the right scanners so you now have a photo an item if this information is gathered elsewhere you can follow individuals and some facial recognition elsewhere and tie down a persons where abouts with other rfid purchases that may be worn, in theory at least. How close is that theory from reality and should the philosophical and political issued be discuessed now or later. I personally believe if this debate is not stated more clearly and in a broder context of these few products we see on the market the later systems we fear will be in place before we have a voice to do anything about them. But who knows the future is unwritten.

My understanding of RFID tags....

...is that they can be "scanned" from a distance away.

I don't see why a picture is necessary. If someone has an RFID'ed item (say in their pocket), it should get scanned and charged for just like an item being held in the hands or resting in the cart. RFID SHOULD potentially eliminate shoplifting, with NO privacy concerns.

Imagine going into walmart and instead of each item being scanned separately, the cashier just aims the scanner at your cart, then you, and instantly everything is added to the total. No questions about what you may have slipped into your pockets because it just get's added. The scanner makes no value judgement.

RFID can be used to make life simpler, as long as we don't start using it to invade privacy.

Why is this relevent to the linux community?

Everyone knows linux hackers and users don't shave, and the more hair the better.
Also, simply using the Tesco Online Grocery Shopping [tesco.co.uk] system would get round the problem.

:)

Easy to abuse.

Such a system is very easy to abuse.

1. Pick-up some blades, making sure you are snapped by the camera.
2. Move outside of the camera range
3. Dump the razor blades somewhere else in the store
4. Pass at the cash
5. When you are stopped by store security, insist that they call the police to search you - only the police has the right to search you
6. When the police has found nothing at all, sue the store for false arrest (the manager will perhaps make a counter-offer for free merchandise - I have an aunt to got herself a free mink coat this way after she was arrested by store detectives at Eaton's [Macy's equivalent])
7. ????
8. profit!

After 10-20 people do that trick, mabye the store will reconsider it's policy...

As little added value as possible

Of course, this arises because supermarkets try to create as little added value as possible. They hire expensive psychologists who tell them that because we are basically hunter/gatherers, we can be conned into pushing the trolleys round the store and collecting the goods ourselves without realising that we are doing all the work, being exposed to all the advertising and subtle pressure to buy, and they are getting all the money. So, rather than prevent theft by the traditional means (sell things from behind the counter on request) they decide to try RFID - which we pay for - so we can have our privacy invaded at our expense.

No, I do not have a loyalty card. No, I do not want an application form. I would tell you why, but then I would have to charge you at my usual hourly rates...

You can "check out" any time you want!

but you can never "leave"

Re:You can "check out" any time you want!

Welcome to the Hotel RFID.
We are all just prisoners here of our own device.

-

Fun hack to fight RFID.

RFID works on frequencies and power levels that are perfctly legal to receive and re-broadcast. Imaging walking around with a tiny device that constantly listens for RFID codes and randomly rebroadcasts the last 5,000 codes it's stored.

Another cute device but trickier to make might listen for RFID codes to start and jump in in the middle drowning out the last half of the code with random garbage.

-

Algorithm for Stealing Razor Blades.

Not that I recommend doing such a thing - but just to highlight
why this is a silly idea...

1) Go to the razor blade stand - pick up a pack of blades - get
photo taken.

2) Hand pack of blades to your wife as she's buying cornflakes in
the next aisle. Say "Honey - please pay for these - I have to go
to the store next door."

3) Leave store.

4) When they stop you leaving the store and accuse you of not paying for
the blades you picked up - tell them that you left the blades in the
Cornflakes aisle. Let them strip-search you - you don't have
the blades. Make a terrible fuss.

5) They let you go with profuse apologies.

6) Your wife then leaves the store - with pack of blades in her pocket
'forgetting' to pay for them. Nobody bats an eyelid because her photo
didn't get taken at the razor blade shelf.

So why don't they simply correlate the RFID tags that they detect going
through the exit of the store with an RFID tag on the till reciept and
directly check that every tag that they detect as marked as being in the
store's inventory is also in the database as having been sold against
that reciept?

Nobody's privacy is invaded - it's all perfectly anonymous.

I don't see the need for all the photography and consequent invasion of
privacy.

Re:Obviously...

"The solution here is to break the system. Take razors off the shelf then leave them elsewhere within the store. You're not shoplifting and you can cause enough noise that the system is worthless."

Until Fritz and Berman pass the Digital Millenium Shopping Act that makes it a felony to "circumvent" (or obfuscate) any hair brained "shoplifiting protection system" even if you don't steal ANYTHING.

Sooner or later the day will come when we are guilty of a crime for simply making it DIFFICULT for private and government authorites to track our every move...

Mischief!

This could be enormous fun. Imagine now. A group of people go into a supermarket and disperse. Half the group each select a packet of razor blades, then pass them to members of the other half of the group, who take them to the tills and pay.

Or just keep picking up packs of razor blades, wandering around the store for awhile and putting them back on the shelves. Or wave a packet of razor blades back and forth in front of the sensor to keep taking photographs.

In some stores, you can go out to the exit side of the checkout e.g. to go to the tobacco kiosk - there is only one exit, with security guards in attendance. You could sneak packets of razor blades out of the main sales floor, then pass them backward through the checkouts, triggering the cameras as you go. Put the blades back on the shelves.

If there is an easy way to kill the RFID tags or blind the sensors {this will require experimentation} then maybe this can be done right there in-store.

Yes, there is plenty of potential for fun to be had with these things.

Buy blades. Jam the system.

Buy RFID-tagged products! Keep the tags! Spread them around!

I think I will push Mach 3 RFID tags into, oh, a bunch of banannas. Or a loaf of bread. Drop it into a shampoo bottle. And if WalMart starts RFIDing underwear, it will be even more fun...

Alternatives to the way it might work...

What if somebody picked up a pack of razors then decided not to buy them later on while still shopping. Rather than returning to the razor isle, he sets them down right there. Later somebody else see's them sitting there and picks them up.

Now the store saw him pick them up, but didn't notice the remainder of the interaction with that particular pack of razor blades. Now you've just tweaked the system.

So if I don't set them back down in the same isle I could get searched as I walk out because I didn't purchase razor blades?