The booster bag problem

It takes only minutes to make a device that defeats (almost) any anti-shoplifting system!

Professional shoplifters have discovered a major weakness in conventional security systems – bags and clothes lined with layers of tinfoil could "hide" magnetic security tags from the antennas designed to detect them. Popularly called “booster bags” by industry specialists, these bags take just minutes to make and have rapidly become the “tool of choice” for shoplifters the world over.

Booster bags provide shoplifters with enormous advantages because:

• they can contain large quantities of merchandise
• they look natural in a shopping environment
• security tagged items inside cannot be detected by conventional RF, AM, or EM systems
• they leave no evidence of the crime!

Today, you'll find stories in newspapers the world over about how 42 DVDs or 17 Armani shirts, or 30 bottles of expensive perfume have been found in a single booster bag – found because a security guard or shop assistant discovered the theft by chance. These stories appear despite the fact that most stores don't like this kind of publicity since it may encourage some other petty thief to visit them with a tinfoil-lined booster bag.

Professional thieves are the most expensive...
Industry specialists report that approximately 20% of all shoplifters are professional – stealing high-value items for resale through other channels. As a result, they are responsible for over 80% of the goods stolen, frequently visiting the same store several times a week.

...and booster bag thieves are the most invisible!
In the past, shoplifters have illegally removed security tags and pins on clothing in fitting rooms, or have unwrapped CDs and cosmetics in restrooms. Store personnel find the discarded pins, tags, CD safers, and wrappers – and the evidence is there for all to see. But with booster bags, there are no pins. There are no loose tags. There are no discarded wrappers - only empty shelves and hangers! The perfect crime – made even more perfect if a store continues to deny its existence!

But the problem DOES exist. Just ask any seasoned security guard. Or search for “booster bags” on the Internet. Or hear what our customers have to say!

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