Using radio frequency identification to detect and/or prevent theft and shoplifting

• US 20050073416A1
• Filed: 09/19/2003
• Published: 04/07/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/19/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions Holdings Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Stockton, Marcia L., Mathewson, James M. II
• Granted Patent: US 7,005,988 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/572.100
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/202 Interconnection or interaction of plural electronic cash registers [ECR] or to host computer, e.g. network details, transfer of information from host to ECR or from ECR to ECR
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/2414 using inductive tags
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/2417 having a radio frequency identification chip

Abstract

Techniques are disclosed for detecting shoplifting or theft, particularly in a retail environment, using radio-frequency identification (“RFID”). Preferred embodiments leverage RFID tags on merchandise and RFID data that is written at the point of sale on the merchandise-borne RFID tags themselves, on the customer'"'"'s receipt, or both. Some embodiments also leverage RFID tags on customer identification or “loyalty” cards. After writing RFID data on the merchandise-borne tags and/or receipt, a matching operation is performed at an RFID reader when the shopper and his merchandise exit the premises, in order to determine whether the shopper has paid for the items in his possession.

Claims

1. A method of detecting potential theft, comprising steps of:

programmatically comparing data stored in a radio frequency identification (“

RFID”

) tag on merchandise to data written on a sales receipt; and

concluding that a potential theft is detected if the comparing step finds that the data stored in the RFID on the merchandise does not match the data written on the sales receipt.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the data written on the sales receipt is written in an RFID tag thereof.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the data stored in the RFID tag comprises a unique item identifier of the tagged merchandise.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the data stored in the RFID tag comprises a stock-keeping unit (“

SKU”

) and a unique item serial number of the tagged merchandise.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the data stored in the RFID tag comprises an Electronic Product Code (“

EPC”

) that uniquely identifies the tagged merchandise.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein:

the data written on the sales receipt comprises a first checksum previously computed over selected portions of data stored in RFID tags on merchandise previously presented at a point of sale;

the comparing step further comprises the steps of;

computing a second checksum over corresponding selected portions of the data stored in the RFID tags for the merchandise; and

using the first checksum and the second checksum as the data being compared.

7. A method of preparing information usable in theft detection using radio frequency identification (“

RFID”

) technology on a transaction receipt, comprising steps of;

reading, for each of one or more items presented for purchase, identifying information previously stored in an RFID tag affixed thereto;

computing a first checksum over selected portions of the identifying information that has been read for each item; and

storing the first checksum in an RFID tag affixed to a transaction receipt corresponding to the purchase.

8. The method according to claim 7, further comprising the steps of:

reading, for each of one or more items possessed by a shopper, identifying information previously stored in an RFID tag affixed thereto;

reading, from the RFID tag affixed to the transaction receipt, the first checksum;

computing a second checksum over selected portions of the identifying information that has been read for each item possessed by the shopper; and

concluding that some of the possessed items were not paid for if the first checksum is not identical to the second checksum.

9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising the step of remembering each item that was in the shopper'"'"'s possession when the shopper entered an establishment in which a transaction represented by the transaction receipt was conducted, and wherein the step of computing a second checksum and the concluding step do not apply to the remembered items.

10. A method of detecting potential theft using radio frequency identification (“

RFID”

) technology on a transaction receipt, comprising steps of;

reading, for each of one or more items possessed by a shopper, identifying information previously stored in an RFID tag affixed thereto;

reading, from a transaction receipt possessed by the shopper, a first checksum previously computed over selected portions of identifying information read from an RFID tag affixed to each of one or more items presented by the shopper for purchase;

computing a second checksum over selected portions of the identifying information that has been read for each item possessed by the shopper; and

concluding that some of the possessed items were not paid for if the first checksum is not identical to the second checksum.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the selected portions of the identifying information that has been read for each item possessed by the shopper comprises at least a unique item identifier for each item.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein the first checksum is stored in, and read from, an RFID tag affixed to the transaction receipt.

13. The method according to claim 10, further comprising the step of remembering each item that was in the shopper'"'"'s possession when the shopper entered an establishment in which a transaction represented by the transaction receipt was conducted, and wherein the step of computing a second checksum and the concluding step do not apply to the remembered items.

14. A method of detecting potential theft, comprising steps of:

computing a checksum over identifying information for each of one or more presented items, wherein the identifying information is read from a radio frequency identification (“

RFID”

) tag affixed to each of the presented items;

storing the computed checksum in an RFID tag affixed to a receipt associated with the presented items;

subsequently presenting one or more items and the receipt;

determining whether the subsequently-presented items are associated with the receipt, further comprising the steps of;

computing a new checksum over corresponding identifying information for each of the one or more subsequently-presented items, wherein the identifying information for each of the subsequently-presented items is read from an RFID tag affixed thereto; and

concluding that the subsequently-presented items are not associated with the receipt, if the checksum is not equal to the new checksum; and

charging a fee for carrying out one or more of the computing, storing, and determining steps.

15. A system for detecting potential theft, comprising:

means for programmatically comparing data stored in a radio frequency identification (“

RFID”

) tag on merchandise to data written on a sales receipt; and

means for concluding that a potential theft is detected if the means for comparing finds that the data stored in the RFID on the merchandise does not match the data written on the sales receipt.

16. The system according to claim 15, wherein the data written on the sales receipt is written in an RFID tag thereof.

17. The system according to claim 15, wherein the data stored in the RFID tag comprises a unique item identifier of the tagged merchandise.

18. The system according to claim 15, wherein the data stored in the RFID tag comprises a stock-keeping unit (“

SKU”

) and a unique item serial number of the tagged merchandise.

19. The system according to claim 15, wherein the data stored in the RFID tag comprises an Electronic Product Code (“

EPC”

) that uniquely identifies the tagged merchandise.

20. The system according to claim 15, wherein:

the data written on the sales receipt comprises a first checksum previously computed over selected portions of data stored in RFID tags on merchandise previously presented at a point of sale;

the means for comparing further comprises;

means for computing a second checksum over corresponding selected portions of the data stored in the RFID tags for the merchandise; and

means for using the first checksum and the second checksum as the data being compared.

21. A system for preparing information usable in theft detection using radio frequency identification (“

RFID”

) technology on a transaction receipt, comprising;

means for reading, for each of one or more items presented for purchase, identifying information previously stored in an RFID tag affixed thereto;

means for computing a first checksum over selected portions of the identifying information that has been read for each item; and

means for storing the first checksum in an RFID tag affixed to a transaction receipt corresponding to the purchase.

22. The system according to claim 21, further comprising:

means for reading, for each of one or more items possessed by a shopper, identifying information previously stored in an RFID tag affixed thereto;

means for reading, from the RFID tag affixed to the transaction receipt, the first checksum;

means for computing a second checksum over selected portions of the identifying information that has been read for each item possessed by the shopper; and

means for concluding that some of the possessed items were not paid for if the first checksum is not identical to the second checksum.

23. The system according to claim 21, further comprising means for remembering each item that was in the shopper'"'"'s possession when the shopper entered an establishment in which a transaction represented by the transaction receipt was conducted, and wherein the means for computing a second checksum and the means for concluding do not apply to the remembered items.

24. A system for detecting potential theft using radio frequency identification (“

RFID”

) technology on a transaction receipt, comprising;

means for reading, for each of one or more items possessed by a shopper, identifying information previously stored in an RFID tag affixed thereto;

means for reading, from a transaction receipt possessed by the shopper, a first checksum previously computed over selected portions of identifying information read from an RFID tag affixed to each of one or more items presented by the shopper for purchase;

means for computing a second checksum over selected portions of the identifying information that has been read for each item possessed by the shopper; and

means for concluding that some of the possessed items were not paid for if the first checksum is not identical to the second checksum.

25. The system according to claim 24, wherein the selected portions of the identifying information that has been read for each item possessed by the shopper comprises at least a unique item identifier for each item.

26. The system according to claim 24, wherein the first checksum is stored in, and read from, an RFID tag affixed to the transaction receipt.

27. The system according to claim 24, further comprising means for remembering each item that was in the shopper'"'"'s possession when the shopper entered an establishment in which a transaction represented by the transaction receipt was conducted, and wherein the means for computing a second checksum and the means for concluding do not apply to the remembered items.

28. A computer program product for detecting potential theft, the computer program product embodied on one or more computer-readable media and comprising:

computer-readable program code means for programmatically comparing data stored in a radio frequency identification (“

RFID”

) tag on merchandise to data written on a sales receipt; and

computer-readable program code means for concluding that a potential theft is detected if the computer-readable program code means for comparing finds that the data stored in the RFID on the merchandise does not match the data written on the sales receipt.

29. The computer program product according to claim 28, wherein the data written on the sales receipt is written in an RFID tag thereof.

30. The computer program product according to claim 28, wherein the data stored in the RFID tag comprises a unique item identifier of the tagged merchandise.

31. The computer program product according to claim 28, wherein the data stored in the RFID tag comprises a stock-keeping unit (“

SKU”

) and a unique item serial number of the tagged merchandise.

32. The computer program product according to claim 28, wherein the data stored in the RFID tag comprises an Electronic Product Code (“

EPC”

) that uniquely identifies the tagged merchandise.

33. The computer program product according to claim 28, wherein:

the data written on the sales receipt comprises a first checksum previously computed over selected portions of data stored in RFID tags on merchandise previously presented at a point of sale;

the computer-readable program code means for comparing further comprises;

computer-readable program code means for computing a second checksum over corresponding selected portions of the data stored in the RFID tags for the merchandise; and

computer-readable program code means for using the first checksum and the second checksum as the data being compared.

34. A computer program product for preparing information usable in theft detection using radio frequency identification (“

RFID”

) technology on a transaction receipt, the computer program product embodied on one or more computer-readable media and comprising;

computer-readable program code means for reading, for each of one or more items presented for purchase, identifying information previously stored in an RFID tag affixed thereto;

computer-readable program code means for computing a first checksum over selected portions of the identifying information that has been read for each item; and

computer-readable program code means for storing the first checksum in an RFID tag affixed to a transaction receipt corresponding to the purchase.

35. The computer program product according to claim 34, further comprising:

computer-readable program code means for reading, for each of one or more items possessed by a shopper, identifying information previously stored in an RFID tag affixed thereto;

computer-readable program code means for reading, from the RFID tag affixed to the transaction receipt, the first checksum;

computer-readable program code means for computing a second checksum over selected portions of the identifying information that has been read for each item possessed by the shopper; and

computer-readable program code means for concluding that some of the possessed items were not paid for if the first checksum is not identical to the second checksum.

36. The computer program product according to claim 34, further comprising computer-readable program code means for remembering each item that was in the shopper'"'"'s possession when the shopper entered an establishment in which a transaction represented by the transaction receipt was conducted, and wherein the computer-readable program code means for computing a second checksum and the computer-readable program code means for concluding do not apply to the remembered items.

37. A computer program product for detecting potential theft using radio frequency identification (“

RFID”

) technology on a transaction receipt, the computer program product embodied on one or more computer-readable media and comprising;

computer-readable program code means for reading, for each of one or more items possessed by a shopper, identifying information previously stored in an RFID tag affixed thereto;

computer-readable program code means for reading, from a transaction receipt possessed by the shopper, a first checksum previously computed over selected portions of identifying information read from an RFID tag affixed to each of one or more items presented by the shopper for purchase;

computer-readable program code means for computing a second checksum over selected portions of the identifying information that has been read for each item possessed by the shopper; and

computer-readable program code means for concluding that some of the possessed items were not paid for if the first checksum is not identical to the second checksum.

38. The computer program product according to claim 37, wherein the selected portions of the identifying information that has been read for each item possessed by the shopper comprises at least a unique item identifier for each item.

39. The computer program product according to claim 37, wherein the first checksum is stored in, and read from, an RFID tag affixed to the transaction receipt.

40. The computer program product according to claim 37, further comprising computer-readable program code means for remembering each item that was in the shopper'"'"'s possession when the shopper entered an establishment in which a transaction represented by the transaction receipt was conducted, and wherein the computer-readable program code means for computing a second checksum and the computer-readable program code means for concluding do not apply to the remembered items.