Anyone know about Immobitag?

[standard-issue]

I spotted this in C+ the other week and was wondering whether it was worth a punt?

My bycicle lives in my bedroom at the moment while I'm back at the 'rents. So any thief is going to get clobbered with a couple of kg of cast iron! But for the future this scheme looks like it's worth investing in.

If I understand correctly, the 'ImmobiTag' is a passive RFID chip and the plod have a scanner, nothing new there (tried and tested; proved principle), the clever bit comes in with the database and infastructure behind the product?

Questions.

1. Once a chip is reported stolen, when scanned, does the scanner automatically 'scream thief', giving the PC the information needed to seize and arrest the individual, at least for possesion of stolen goods?

2. Is the scanner carried by the local beat bobby, or does the bike have to be seized prior to being scanned?

3. Do you offer RFID stckers for other products such as mobile phones, laptops, etc.

Dont get me wrong, I love RFID and think its a great system, it just seems with a little more R+D, it could possibly be much more.

If you employ your own designers, have them look at ImmobiTag Mk2, (taking into account CC's coments, I think the people on here represent a broad spectrum). If not, then I'm currently freelancing at a very reasonable rate

 

[mickle]

Are my Datatags obselete?

I have to say that at two recent events we attended in Wimbledon and Greenwich, the local polis were promoting Immobitag very heavily. In London at least the polis are on side.

 

[domtyler]

I think they charge you a hefty fee to reunite you with your bike if it is recovered, so not really free after all!

 

[domtyler]

I'd appreciate an answer to my questions, which you invited.

Thanks.

It may not be on his sales script.

CycleChat, a friendly place for everyone with an interest in cycling cyclists wallets.

 

[standard-issue]

I think they charge you a hefty fee to reunite you with your bike if it is recovered, so not really free after all!

Adrian, can you clarify this?

Is there a charge for the recovery of goods? On top of the taxes we pay for the Contabulary?

It's a NO GO for me if this is true!

You can record S/N's, take photo's and store them all on your computing device, where thay can be backed up in various ways all for the cost of maybe a c.d.

This will satisfy insurance companies, if the local beat boby doesn't carry a scanner with them then your bike has to be recovered before the RFID can be scanned then your photo's serial number/ description will surfice in identifying the bike as yours. If the bike has been taken for parts, then what use is a RFID in your seat tube it's not going to get your Dura-Ace or Campy grourset back!

Could it possiblby be a problem designed for a product?

On the other hand, if its free then like sombody mentioned earlier, nothing lost nothing gained.

 

[John the Monkey]

There's no mention of any fee being charged for reunitiing you with your kit in the T&Cs - where did you hear that there was, Dom? And was it the constabulary or the company that was charging?

My bike's registered, and was tagged for free by GM Police at one of their occasional crime prevention events.

 

[adrianportlock]

Sorry!

I'd appreciate an answer to my questions, which you invited.

Thanks.

Hi sorry seemed to miss these! There seems to be a lot of different questions from people so I hope its ok if I answer them all at once.

Re the Police or us charging for recovering lost or stolen property - We work with the Police across the UK and provide a whole range of services to them not just Immobitag, I have never known or heard of them charging people to have their property returned. Lost Property office's on transport systems etc do sometimes make a charge of a couple of pounds, but this is nothing to do with Immobitag they do it for all property. We certainly do not charge anything to anyone except the one off charge for the tag in the first place.

Re Scanners. All forces have the scanners to read the tags but not every officers has one, the scanner is normally located at the property office where the recovered or suspicious property is checked. Please note when you register Immobitag you also register all the other numbers the bike may have as well and normally these are checked first via the NMPR as descibed in my earlier posts so even if they dont have a scanner to hand when they first check the bike they can still see your registereed information and any report you have made on Immobilise that the bike is missing. If you add photos on Immobilise they can see these as well which is a great help.





1. Once a chip is reported stolen, when scanned, does the scanner automatically 'scream thief', giving the PC the information needed to seize and arrest the individual, at least for possesion of stolen goods?

Answer: When your bike is stolen or goes missing go to the Immobilise account you created when you regietered the tag and on your account you can make a report, when the Police scan the tag the information you have entered about the bike, your contact details and the report all show up on the Police systems, they can then contact you to take the matter further

2. Is the scanner carried by the local beat bobby, or does the bike have to be seized prior to being scanned?

Answer: As mentioned above some forces carry the scanners, some have them at their property offices, but if there is suspicion the officer will normally check any numbers on the bike first, frame, wheels, parts etc on the NMPR they can do this over the radio, when you register the tag you are also asked for this additional information about the bike.

3. Do you offer RFID stckers for other products such as mobile phones, laptops, etc.

Answer: We dont do RFID products for other items of property at present.

Hope all this helps

thanks
Adrian

 

[inaperfectworld]

i was going through leeds station returning from a tour last august and the police were fitting immobitag on the spot and for free. i asked for another for my audax bike which they gave me for free too. so it seems the local police here have a serious interest in it

 

[master_grunthos]

Hi

I have been looking at immobitag for my bikes and have bought two which I'll install at the weekend.

Having read the claims on the website about every Police force in the Uk using them I emailed the Gloucestershire Police (where I live). The call centre responded that they knew nothing about it but would pass on my enquiry. This result didn't actually surprise me.

Soon after at a "cycling event" where I work the Police Crime Prevention Team were security tagging bikes for free, I asked them about the Immobitag and they instantly knew of it and immobilise.com. Their opinions were that there's no reason not to register with the website as they always use it for stolen bikes however scanning is less likely unless the bike is perceived as high value or distinctive for the simple fact that they don't have many scanners and these are mainly in use by traffic officers who scan things like suspect motor bikes and caravans. My bikes are expensive and distinctive and they said I should probably get the tags as the cost is so small, so I have. If I report a theft I'll be sure that they know it's tagged.

Of course this applies only to Gloucestershire, by the sound of it other Police forces are more engaged as they are giving out the tags.

 

[master_grunthos]

One question that's a matter of opinion I guess. Perhaps the MD has real guidance on this

Is it best to put the sticker marking the bike as tagged on the bike or leave it off? Do I really want a thief to know it's there as a deterrent or will they then think they can (and perhaps successfully) remove it if they know it's there?

What do you reckon?

i also don't want to spoil the look of my bikes, though naturally them being stolen is a worse look...

 

[master_grunthos]

my thoughts were more along the lines of either having no deterrent such that you rely on the tag as merely a means of retrieval or add the deterrent factor as well but running the risk of the tag getting removed. Which is best? lower risk of theft or greater risk of non-recovery?

This is probably mostly a silly question as I'm assuming the thief has a lot of consideration for labelling of bikes and/or ability or motivation to remove them or that the Police would scan a bike with no label.

Of course if they know the frame is tagged they could just sell all the components on eBay, these are totally untraceable tagging or no tagging.

I am I think allowing my intense paranoia about bicycle security eat away at me...

 

[Matt B]

Hmmm, another spanner in the works.... just reading all your posts. Would it be worth purchasing both systems? I can't make up my mind which one to have. Also possibly a stupid question, but is there any kind of GPS tracking system available for bicycles? If I could actually follow the b*st@rd who stole my bike, it would be infinately more satisfying than just maybe recovering it, possibly damaged.

 

[barnyingram]

What if I want to sell my bike?

Does anyone know how the immobitag works if I want to sell my bike? ie Can the ownership details stored on the database be transferred over to someone else or does it not work like that?

I don't want to fit a tag and then find it impossible to sell in a few years time if I wish to do because it's registered to only my name.

 

[vorsprung]

I have another question about the rfid in this device

Passive RFID chips contain no internal power supply. They contain an antenna which is able to have a current induced in it when within range of the RFID reader. The tag then uses that electricity to power the internal chip, which bounces its data back out through the antenna, where it will be picked up by the reader.

( see http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-blockkill-RFID-chips/ )

The metal tubes of all my bikes are effectively a faraday cage which will block the current inducing signal. So how will this system work at all? Or would the bike have to have the seatpost removed first to expose the device in the seattube?

 

[mr nobody]

immobitag removing ???

I just got one of these out in 30 seconds, what complete nonsense and a waste of money.