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����������������� � � ����������������� �� �� � Bypassing Merchandise Alarms � � By oozle March, 2, 2000 � �� �� ����������������� � � ����������������� Introduction ------------ If you are reading this file, you most likely know about the merchandise alarms in stores such as Best Buy, Wal*Mart, Circuit City, and the like. But, incase you do not, here is a brief description. Usually, when a store wants to place an expensive item on a standard store shelf, such as a digital camera, telephone, and many other items, they want to make sure that no one walks away with these. You can tell if the item has a merchandise alarm attached, it will usually look like one of two things. 1 - a black rectangular piece of plastic with a red LED (light). Usually this rectangle has a phone type cord going from this into the merchandise alarm. or 2 - some other form of pad, with a wire attached, of course. The pads usually carry warnings such as "WARNING: this is an audio electronic alarm, and will sound when removed from this product." The warnings aren't all the same. DECOY ----- Before I delve further into this file, let me talk about a VERY important decoy that these stores tend to use. Occasionally you will see a celluar phone or other product of value, with a alarm attached. BUT... did you ever wonder why the product still says "This is a demo, and does not function"? The message is usally along those lines, trying to make you think that these devices are phoney, and therefore are not worth trying to steal. While many of them ARE fake, many are real also, so keep an eye out for these 'Decoy' items. LOCATION -------- So, you see the pad and the wire that belongs to the alarm. But, you are still wondering, 'Where is the alarm'?. The people who designed these alarms are not exactly rocket scientists, and neither are the people who install or maintain them. These alarms are very weak, and are not costly to make. The store will most likely have them beneath the shelf the item is on (usually the bottom shelf), behind the shelf, under the shelf in a corner, or next to a computer terminal. If you have access to a store such as Office Max, they will probably leave them on the same shelf, even next to the item. Brilliant, huh? The alarm's appearance is usually a small square or rectangular box, with LED's, a lock, phone jack style plugs, and a power supply but can often be run with a 9v battery instead (although not likely, just used as a back up). HOW IT WORKS ------------ Knowing how the alarm works is extremely important to those who wish to bypass it. The alarm is simple, and highly vulnerable to attack. Inside the casing of the alarm, there is a simple circuit. The circuit is a loop with an audio oscillator [sound device to those unfamiliar]. This is how the alarm works. Each of those phone jack plugs on the alarm are attached to either 1) the merchandise, or 2) a serial or parrallel port on a computer or terminal, or 3) a RJ11 Loop (more on this later). When the pad with cord is plugged into the socket, electricity flows from the alarm, to the pad, and back to the alarm (hence, loop). When this loop is broken, the alarm responds by emitting a high tone, or silently alerting the computer, if one is attached. The common alarm has 6 phone jack plugs, and in order for it to work without going off, all of the plugs must be attached to the pads on the merchandise, a computer, or an RJ 11 LOOP. What is an RJ 11 Loop? RJ 11 is just a fancy name for that square plug on your telephone line, the one which you plug into the telephone. The RJ 11 loop is what the store will use if there are not enough things to plug in the alarm. If they only have 3 things they need to protect, they will fill the rest of the jacks with the loops, since the alarm needs to loop so it will not go off. Simply put, the RJ 11 Loop is the plug, with the 2 outer wires connected. Thats all. This allows flow through the alarm, and doesnt require you to use all of the sockets to protect merchandise. Other things to look for on the alarm are lids, which likely contain the backup battery, casually a 9 volt. The lid itself can contain important information on the inside, such as what type of key the alarm uses to turn on & off, manufacturer, and other details. Remember even if you own a key for the same model alarm, there is a chance it will not work. This is another security feature implied to the device. The same model alarm can have many different types of keys, of which only 1 will work. Do not attempt to open this lid unless nessesary. The screw that holds it in place has a tamper alarm attached, so once open, it sounds the alarm. GAINING ACCESS -------------- This is ultimately simple, sort of like taking candy from a dead body. The cost to breach this security system is approximately $2. You will need a butane lighter (the kind with the blue flame, that looks like a small torch), and some paperclips (bring about 5 with you). If you are nervous or paranoid about lighting things on fire, proceed to the next section of this article, titled BED OF NAILS. First, find the alarm. Count how many items it protects. You only need 1 paperclip per item you wish to take. Make sure the paperclips are not aluminum! Aluminum will not conduct electricity. Please note that you do not have to tamper with the RJ 11 Loops I described earlier, since these are not physically connected to the merchandise. Once you find the alarm, take one of the cords that go to an item. Light it with the butane lighter. Notice that this WILL catch on fire, but it is contained. It burns very slow, and there is no need to be worried about burning down the place. But, if you are still a bit weary of this, you may want to use some clay, or a creme that is not flammable. Put the creme on a small part of the cord (1 inch). Leave a half an inch of non-creamed cord, then apply another inch. So its like this --cream-- -no cream- --cream--. Then burn the section that does not have the cream. You shouldn't use this method because it takes too long and there is no danger in not using it, but its good if you are paranoid. Once the section of cord is on fire, allow it to burn for a few seconds, and melt away the plastic. Once you think its ok, blow out the flame. If there is still plastic on the wires, you will need to burn the same area again, until the metal wires are fully exposed. Once the wires are exposed, slide your paper clip over all of the exposed wires. (There will be either 2 or 4). Do not worry about getting electrocuted. The volatge running from the alarm to the pad is minimal, approximately 1 - 5 volts DC. Definately less than a 9 volt battery, which is safe. What you are doing is cutting the loop short, and basically disabling the pad on the protected item. Since the voltage is looping back into the alarm, the alarm thinks everything is ok. It is now safe to remove the merchandise that is attached to the cord. (Be sure its on the same cord you just patched! :). Congratulations, you have just bypassed one of corporate America's well trusted retail devices. BED OF NAILS ------------ Like I promised earlier, this section is for the people who are paranoid, or weary of fire. If you are paranoid, may I suggest ditching the whole project instantly, because your nerves will likely give you away. If you feel the need, please continue to read. A bed of nails is a clip, like an aligator clip, or roache clip to the pot heads, but more advanced, and a hell of a lot more expensive. Do not even try the bed of nails method unless its for education, or an item wich is worth more than the clip. Think of this method as a coupon :). The clip can be found at electronics stores (No, probably not Radio Shack). Some places you might want to look are www.digikey.com www.mouser.com www.newark.com and other places of high quality electronic parts. Once you have the clip, find the line that the merchandise is attached to. Put the clip on the line. Please note that there is a 50/50 chance this will work with only 1 clip. If you want a more assured method, buy two clips and attach them together with a piece of wire. Then place both on the cord. With 2 clips you have just bettered your chances of shorting out the pad on the item. Try to remove the item now from the pad. If the alarm goes off, just beat it, and try again with the fool proof lighter method. If it didnt go off, congratulations, you have just bypassed one of corporate Americas well trusted retail devices. ------End-Of-File------ There is no disclaimer, because personally, I don't give a flying fuck whether you rip off one of these shit chains or not. If you do rip them off, thank you. Maybe if enough people do this they can send them out of business, and allow the small store owners back into business, which is a rarity around my area these days. Please don't steal from anything that is not corporate or a chain store. These people generally do not have the funds to go about replacing stolen items, and it will damage them badly. Think of it as Robin Hood. You steal from the rich (the corporations). The stores that arent corporate or chains are probably not rich. Get it? I now leave you to ponder the possibilities. Be responcible and have fun this summer. Hack the world. ------End-Of-File------ Copyright (c) 2000, oozle productions, ltd.