Superbooster™ cell phone booster fraud

  • Thread starter Thread starter negitron
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Cell
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the Superbooster™ cell phone booster, with participants expressing skepticism about its legitimacy and potential risks associated with the device. The conversation touches on themes of fraud, technology, and privacy concerns, with a focus on the implications of using such a product.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant claims the Superbooster™ is fraudulent, suggesting it is merely a repackaged RF-based EAS tag sold at a high markup.
  • Another participant expresses disbelief at the product's legitimacy, calling it "lame."
  • A participant raises a hypothetical scenario where the device could be used for malicious tracking and invasion of privacy, listing various alarming possibilities.
  • In response, another participant dismisses the tracking concerns, asserting that the device is not powered and therefore cannot track anything.
  • Another participant counters that the device does receive RF energy and can respond with an ID number, suggesting it could be used for tracking if enough antennas are deployed.
  • There is a clarification that while the device could potentially interact with interrogating systems, tracking personal information would require powered devices.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the legitimacy of the Superbooster™ or the potential risks it poses. There are competing views regarding its functionality and implications for privacy.

Contextual Notes

There are unresolved assumptions regarding the technical capabilities of the device and the definitions of tracking and monitoring in this context.

negitron
Science Advisor
Messages
848
Reaction score
2
Superbooster™ cell phone "booster" fraud

The following image is a freeze-frame from the product ad, as found on the parent website of the marketing company who makes and sells the product:

http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/2258/superbooster.jpg

This is an image of a type of RF-based EAS tag, commonly used in libraries, from the How Stuff Works website:

anti-sec-tag3.jpg


Yeah, nothing suspicious there, right? Obviously, they buy these EAS tags, slap their own label on them (at a total cost of less than $1, most likely) and sell these things to gullible sheeple. While there are lots of these useless things out there, this is a particularly egregious example because there is not even the pretense of designing an original product; it's just out-and-out fraud. I urge everyone to report these shysters.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Computer science news on Phys.org


wow, this is so lame
 


could it be even worse?
could that device monitor your location for, let see..for instance
1. I have your address
2. I can tell your current location
3. I heard you last night blabbin' on the cell phone while you entered the code for your house alarm
4. I know when you're 5 minutes away, so you never realize the U-haul you just passed has the contents of your house in it

oh, no, you saw me , so...maybe, boom, your phone blows up in your ear

dr
 


dr dodge said:
could it be even worse?
could that device monitor your location for, let see..for instance
1. I have your address
2. I can tell your current location
3. I heard you last night blabbin' on the cell phone while you entered the code for your house alarm
4. I know when you're 5 minutes away, so you never realize the U-haul you just passed has the contents of your house in it

oh, no, you saw me , so...maybe, boom, your phone blows up in your ear

dr

So long as we don't jump to conclusions.
 


lol

no, that would never happen

dr
 


These things aren't powered. So they can't track anything.
 


VicDelmonte said:
These things aren't powered. So they can't track anything.

They are powered. The spiral antenna receives RF energy from the interrogating system. The chip is activated and responds with the RF tag ID number.

The effect is local, but if you pepper a city with interrogating antennas, you can track the location of the chips. They're pretty easy to dismantle, too. Simply knife through them.

As for tracking personal information, phone conversations... That technology requires powered devices. :)
 

Similar threads

RF blocking stickers for cell-phones
  • · Replies 29 ·
Replies
29
Views
13K