Using radio frequency identification with transaction receipts to detect and/or prevent theft and shoplifting
First Claim
1. A method of preparing information usable in theft detection using radio frequency identification (“
- RFID”
) technology, comprising steps of;
reading, from an RFID tag affixed to each of one or more presented items, identifying information for that item; and
storing the identifying information for each item on a receipt reflecting the presented items.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
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.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. A method of preparing information usable in theft detection using radio frequency identification (“
- RFID”
) technology, comprising steps of;
reading, from an RFID tag affixed to each of one or more presented items, identifying information for that item; and
storing the identifying information for each item on a receipt reflecting the presented items. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
- RFID”
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6. A method of detecting potential theft using radio frequency identification (“
- RFID”
) technology, comprising steps of;
scanning a receipt for identifying information reflecting one or more items that were presented for purchase;
searching, in an RFID tag affixed to each or one or more items possessed by a shopper who also possesses the receipt, to locate corresponding identifying information for each possessed item; and
concluding that selected ones of the items possessed by the shopper were not paid for if the identifying information located for the selected items is not detected by the scanning step. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10)
- RFID”
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11. A system for preparing information usable in theft detection using radio frequency identification (“
- RFID”
) technology, comprising;
means for reading, from an RFID tag affixed to each of one or more presented items, identifying information for that item; and
means for storing the identifying information for each item on a receipt reflecting the presented items. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
- RFID”
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16. A system for detecting potential theft using radio frequency identification (“
- RFID”
) technology, comprising;
means for scanning a receipt for identifying information reflecting one or more items that were presented for purchase;
means for searching, in an RFID tag affixed to each or one or more items possessed by a shopper who also possesses the receipt, to locate corresponding identifying information for each possessed item; and
means for concluding that selected ones of the items possessed by the shopper were not paid for if the identifying information located for the selected items is not detected by the means for scanning. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
- RFID”
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21. A computer program product for preparing information usable in theft detection using radio frequency identification (“
- RFID”
) technology, the computer program product embodied on one or more computer-readable media and comprising;
computer-readable program code means for reading, from an RFID tag affixed to each of one or more presented items, identifying information for that item; and
computer-readable program code means for storing the identifying information for each item on a receipt reflecting the presented items. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25)
- RFID”
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26. A computer program product for detecting potential theft using radio frequency identification (“
- RFID”
) technology, the computer program product embodied on one or more computer-readable media and comprising;
computer-readable program code means for scanning a receipt for identifying information reflecting one or more items that were presented for purchase;
computer-readable program code means for searching, in an RFID tag affixed to each or one or more items possessed by a shopper who also possesses the receipt, to locate corresponding identifying information for each possessed item; and
computer-readable program code means for concluding that selected ones of the items possessed by the shopper were not paid for if the identifying information located for the selected items is not detected by the computer-readable program code means for scanning. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30)
- RFID”
Specification