A $350 'Anti-5G' Device Is Just a 128MB USB Stick, Teardown Finds (arstechnica.com) 198
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Believers of 5G conspiracy theories have apparently been buying a $350 anti-5G USB key that -- not surprisingly -- appears to just be a regular USB stick with only 128MB of storage. As noted by the BBC today, the "5GBioShield" USB stick "was recommended by a member of Glastonbury Town Council's 5G Advisory Committee, which has called for an inquiry into 5G." The company that sells 5GBioShield claims it "is the result of the most advanced technology currently available for balancing and prevention of the devastating effects caused by non-natural electric waves, particularly (but not limited to) 5G, for all biological life forms." The product's website charges 283 British pounds for a single 5GBioShield, which converts to nearly $350. That's what it costs to get "protection for your home and family, thanks to the wearable holographic nano-layer catalyser, which can be worn or placed near to a smartphone or any other electrical, radiation or EMF emitting device." The USB stick apparently doesn't need to be plugged in to anything to work its magic. "It is always ON and working -- that's why we used quantum nano-layer technology," the company says in an FAQ.
But what does the 5GBioShield actually consist of? The BBC pointed to a recent teardown by security company Pen Test Partners, which found that the device is just a USB stick with 128MB of storage. The company wrote: "When plugged in to our test machine we may have missed the bubble of 'quantum holographic catalyzer technology' appearing. The stick comes loaded with a 25 page PDF version of the material from 5GBioShield's website. It included a Q&A of distances for the "bubble" and how to know if it is working. It's an "always on" system apparently, is always working, powered or not, so no visual checks needed. A review of the stick's properties revealed nothing more than what you'd expect from a regular 128MB USB key. We weren't even sure that 128s are still in production!" The report says that the London Trading Standards has launched a probe to investigate this product.
How will the company defend itself? BioShield Distribution Director Anna Grochowalska told the BBC, "We are in possession of a great deal of technical information, with plenty of back-up historical research," and "we are not authorized to fully disclose all this sensitive information to third parties, for obvious reasons."
But what does the 5GBioShield actually consist of? The BBC pointed to a recent teardown by security company Pen Test Partners, which found that the device is just a USB stick with 128MB of storage. The company wrote: "When plugged in to our test machine we may have missed the bubble of 'quantum holographic catalyzer technology' appearing. The stick comes loaded with a 25 page PDF version of the material from 5GBioShield's website. It included a Q&A of distances for the "bubble" and how to know if it is working. It's an "always on" system apparently, is always working, powered or not, so no visual checks needed. A review of the stick's properties revealed nothing more than what you'd expect from a regular 128MB USB key. We weren't even sure that 128s are still in production!" The report says that the London Trading Standards has launched a probe to investigate this product.
How will the company defend itself? BioShield Distribution Director Anna Grochowalska told the BBC, "We are in possession of a great deal of technical information, with plenty of back-up historical research," and "we are not authorized to fully disclose all this sensitive information to third parties, for obvious reasons."
Jamming Radio Signals is Illegal (Score:3, Interesting)
It's not a jammer, it's a shield (Score:2)
Look at the (amusing) images on the website [5gbioshield.com]
They are not jamming anything. They are careful to note they are SHIELDING you from 5G. By way of a "wearable holographic nano-layer catalyser"...
That also expands depending on environment, again refer to images. :-)
Now you are argue about how much shielding a USB stick on your person might offer, as opposed to a full body aluminum suit. But it's not like they are doing anything illegal, just preying on the stupid and ignorant - a time honored profession.
Re: It's not a jammer, it's a shield (Score:2)
Re: It's not a jammer, it's a shield (Score:5, Funny)
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But does it protect against chemtrails?
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I was thinking there is no way this is not satire. Just some comic playing a funny one. I mean, have people read the website? It is amazingly funny.
Then I remembered Depak Chopra.
Dark times when you are not sure if this level of bs is a joke (if it is, kudos) or someone actually conning other people.
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Perhaps you would be interested in buying some jewellery that makes you immortal? [alexchiu.com]
Of course *I* am joking. But the owner of the site is not. You can buy those for 30 bucks.
A fool and his money are soon parted.
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Perhaps you would be interested in buying some jewellery that makes you immortal? [alexchiu.com]
On the other hand, if you want to be immortalized AS jewelry [lifegem.com], you can be accommodated.
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Well, if you die, I'm sure you can get a refund; if not from the seller himself, then by having your credit card issuer do a chargeback.
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A few years back there was a guy selling a device that claimed to block electrons propelled by nuclear power from your house somehow.
The Brilliant Pebbles website seems to be falling about but you can still buy a bag of rocks to tape to your hifi if you really want. https://www.machinadynamica.co... [machinadynamica.com]
Then there was that fake bomb detector... Actually it was similar to a divining rod, which some water companies still use and swear works. They bought the high tech gear I built for them anyway but some of the gu
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Not doing anything illegal? We apparently have very different definitions for that term. They're making easily disproved, fraudulent claims.
Re: It's not a jammer, it's a shield (Score:5, Informative)
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"The 5GBioShield makes it possible, thanks to a uniquely applied process of quantum nano-layer technology, to balance the imbalanced electric oscillations arising from all electric fog induced by all devices such as: laptops, cordless phones, wlan, tablets, etc.," the company says, adding that the USB stick "brings balance into the field at the atomic and cellular level restoring balanced effects to all harmful (ionized and non-ionized) radiation."
The USB stick apparently doesn't need to be plugged in to anything to work its magic. "It is always ON and working—that's why we used quantum nano-layer technology," the company says in an FAQ.
But the device allegedly produces a wider field of protection when it is plugged in. To answer the question of whether the stick needs to be "charged regularly," the FAQ says, "No—the input charge only expands the field effect from 4m radius to 20m + radius when plugged into an USB wall charger or a computer."
How many false claims just in these few paragraphs? You have to squint REALLY hard through solicitor-smeared glasses to claim this isn't outright fraud. It's a cheap 128MB USB stick with a small plastic crystal molded on the end, topped with a small sticker.
Re: It's not a jammer, it's a shield (Score:5, Funny)
quantum nano-layer technology
That's the holographic sticker. Nanometer thick layer of aluminum deposited on it, and these diffraction holograms do use quantum effects.
The rest of it is saying it will protect you from any non-existent things that exist.
expands the field effect from 4m radius to 20m + radius when plugged into an USB wall charger or a computer.
That is to say, the blue light comes on and you can see it from further away.
Well, they had to do something with the box of old 128Mb decorative USB sticks they found in the back of the cupboard.
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Still illegal though because under UK law any claimed health benefits, even if they are protecting against non-existent things, have to be proven.
There was a case a few years ago that send certain parts of the press into a fever rage where the EU ruled that bottled water couldn't claim to treat dehydration. Reason being that dehydration is not only caused by not consuming enough water, and drinking water doesn't always work. The rules are quite strict about medical claims.
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Marketers are very good at skirting the letter of the law when it comes to claims. Famous example, "New and Improved Foo", well they shrunk the fine print so they could expand it, that's new and an improvement for the makers of foo. If you were stupid enough to read that foo itself had improved, well we can't help that.
As the other poster said, it really does protect against all known harmful effects of 5G radiation. It's just the buyers mistake in taking it the way that it appears instead of how it is.
Ther
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Oh it makes a tonne of claims that can be verified as either "true", "false" or "too crazy to live".
Lets review!
The 5GBioShield USB Key restores the coherence of the geometry of the atoms, which allows a perfect induction for life forces, by (re-) creating a cardiac coherence, via plasmic support and interactivity.
"Coherence of the geometry of the atoms"? Well thats a bunch of science words that all have meanings, although distinctly not when put in this order. Regardless, this can be checked and ought show up in a regular old electron microscope. I mean if your crystalizing everything in a 20M2 radius, SOMETHING should show up right?
The 5GBioShield USB Key emits a large number of life force frequencies favoring a general revitalization of the body, adjusting them according to the absorption capacity of each respective individual.
Great, this is easy, just supply the frequencies and have a look at the EM
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Great, this is easy, just supply the frequencies and have a look at the EM noise thrugh a spectrum analyser and see how much of that "frequency" is being emmitted.
No, you misunderstood. It's emitting life frequencies, not radio frequencies. It's another way of saying that it will make you feel good, like any placebo. So buy yours today!
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... their "professor", here he is squaring the circle ...
Note his discovery of the REAL value of pi, 3.16..... .Yeah you read that right lol
OMG that article is literally worth less than the cost to download it.
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Oh, and just for a taste of just how fucking crazy their "professor" is, here he is squaring the circle: https://www.ijsr.net/get_abstr [ijsr.net]... [ijsr.net] Note his discovery of the REAL value of pi, 3.16..... .Yeah you read that right lol
He is every bit as wonderful as I hoped he would be.
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What does "emitting life force frequencies" mean?
Re: It's not a jammer, it's a shield (Score:2)
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They are committing two criminal acts, first the obvious false advertising ie 'remediation for all harmful radiation, electro-smog and biohazard pollution", secondly they are in fact claiming 5G is extremely harmful and you need to protect yourself against it. So it is just a matter of time before they are done.
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Which in the UK might actually be illegal. There is legal action against this: https://www.bbc.com/news/techn... [bbc.com]
It might be illegal int he US also, probably depends upon the exact wording when marketed, but you can't outright lie to the consumer in your advertising.
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But it's not like they are doing anything illegal...
They might be. The UK has the Trade Descriptions Act [wikipedia.org] which prevents companies making untrue claims.
I suppose they could claim they're using magic, but presumably they'll need to prove that in court.
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I'd love to look at the amusing images, but I am not turning on Javascript to visit a scammer's website.
Re:Jamming Radio Signals is Illegal (Score:4, Funny)
I guess everybody is missing the point. With a whopping 128MB of storage, you can store your data on the key instead of transferring it from the cloud with 5G every time you need it. Think about all the nasty 5G exposure you prevent by using this great product! /sarcasm
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"But your Honor, we meant "jam" as in jamming to a tune."
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It doesn't jam anything or claim to jam. It just mystically helps protect you from evil rays in unspecified ways.
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The really bad news is that snakes are likely to become an endangered species soon because they contain very little oil so you must catch and kill an awfully large number of them to get enough of that oil to make all the scammy products that are appearing on the market these days.
But seriously, why wouldn't this work?
After all, this device [indiegogo.com] raised over US$1m dollars so it must work and all it uses are some "nano capacitors" to effectively kill pain anywhere on your body. (ROFTL)
Clearly, placebo is a powerful
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Interesting fact. In Japan, snake oil is called "toad oil". Gama No Abura.
Same concept, they just use toads instead of snakes.
Just as sound as the anti-5G reasoning (Score:2)
So I would say this thing, doing nothing, works perfectly as advertised. At least using the "reasoning" of the anti-5G idiots.
Re:Just as sound as the anti-5G reasoning (Score:5, Insightful)
It's a perfect product. A phony solution to a made-up problem. It doesn't hurt anyone except fools who wish to be parted from their money. It doesn't trick people into replacing genuine health or medical treatment with bullshit. It's like selling audiophiles a sack of rocks to put in the corner and make their stereo sound better.
The only part I find concerning is that Glastonbury has a 5G advisory committee with members who are so ignorant of the topic that one of them would recommend this.
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You're probably holding it wrong.
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Doesn't hurt anyone? I'd argue that point. Sure, not at the level of most crimes, but it's not completely benign either.
It's a net drain on society, as it perpetuates lies and frauds and puts money in the hands of scammers. There has already been real, physical harm done to actual infrastructure because of this 5G hoax, which this products helps perpetuate just by virtue of its bogus claims. People are actually vulnerable to psycho-somatic afflictions, and so there could very well be gullible people tha
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On the other hand, it may well prevent violence when the idiots think themselves safe from those deadly 5G towers and don't go out and destroy them anymore.
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As for that Glastonbury advisory committee member, he should be removed at once, without a doubt. An idiot like that has no business advising anyone on anything.
With that you would need to remove a lot of elected politicians. They usually have the same level of "insight" into experts-only problems as their voters do and the same lack of appreciation that these topics are experts-only and they just do not have what it takes to understand them. They usually also believe (just like their voters) that you can change scientific or technological facts by "discussing" them, completely mistaking the nature of this physical reality. It is like they all spent their last rein
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Glastonbury is the new-age area of England. It is so open minded that you may find brains just lying on the ground after falling out of the residents' heads.
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Well, "open minded" and "incapable of fact-checking" are often mistaken to be the same thing, but they are really very different.
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wait a sec..
what kind of rocks? does it matter what corner? (my living room is in an east/west orientation -- if that helps)
When choosing the type and quantity of rocks, does it matter what genre of music you listen to? I imagine lava rock works best with pop or country, while jazz would do better with basalt type rocks.
Audiophiles are unsung heroes.
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Also note that you need to paint them RAL 5015, unless the room is well lit, then you need RAL 5012!
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"selling audiophiles a sack of rocks to put in the corner and make their stereo sound better."
Couldn't be... https://www.machinadynamica.co... [machinadynamica.com]
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Yup. The council was giving equal time to everyone involved, except those who are being negative. But you also have to remember that this is the new-age center of the country, the most likely place to believe in this sort of nonsense.
There's one born every minute, and 100 every two y (Score:3)
There's a sucker born every minute.
About 100 similarly ignorant people elected to Congress every two years.
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I was going to point out an example of someone in the house who clearly is NOT a dumbass, but indeed I can't think of an example of any current incumbent.
Very few House members have ever read a federal budget, the budget they are responsible for creating.
On the hand, Paul Ryan WROTE the federal budget multiple times. One might have a different viewpoint than him on particular issues, he's clearly not a dumbass.
In fact, we imagine that if I disagreed with Stephen Hawking on a question of physics, it's more l
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I don't like Paul Ryan and I disagree with many things he said and did, but I do respect him. I believe he's a professional, he takes his work seriously, and even though his vision for the country is different from mine, I believe that he did his work in what he believed to be the best interests of the United States. I think the same of George W. Bush.
And I certainly think Ryan was way smarter, saner, and better at his job than any member of my state's delegation in my memory.
Always on, using secret tech. (Score:5, Funny)
The USB stick apparently doesn't need to be plugged in to anything to work its magic. "It is always ON and working -- that's why we used quantum nano-layer technology," the company says in an FAQ.
It's actually powered by small pieces of a ZPM [stargate-s...utions.com] the Air Force found buried in Antarctica.
BioShield Distribution Director Anna Grochowalska told the BBC, "We are in possession of a great deal of technical information, with plenty of back-up historical research," and "we are not authorized to fully disclose all this sensitive information to third parties, for obvious reasons."
"... and beause we haven't finished making it up yet. We're still in season 8 of SG-1 and haven't watched Atlantis or SGU yet."
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Nah, they use the 5G radiation to work, they take those harmful waves, turn it into benign energy and use it to fuel their protection against it.
I don't exactly know how it works, but I'm sure the answer is something with "frequencies".
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I just wonder why they had to go with the USB stick, there's self-adhesive stickers that do the job just as well.
Take those fools money (Score:4, Funny)
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tinfoil hat in a different shape. (Score:2)
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It's kind of funny that people believe this stuff works. They should sell $350 boxes of aluminum foil instead. Then at least they could show that the product can be used to block 5G. I can't wait to see a house covered in aluminum foil.
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Yes, I call people who are willfully ignorant and believe any kind of conspiracy bullshit because they refuse to even consider questioning it stupid. And you'll have a really hard time convincing me otherwise.
Don't need. Don't want. (Score:2)
wearable holographic nano-layer catalyser! (Score:2)
OMG that is so awesome! I bet it will replace my tin hat!
But don't forget... (Score:2)
Customers deserve what they get (Score:2)
A team member- head researcher (Score:2)
Dr. Ilija Lakicevic, Res. Prof. Here's what he published in ISJR https://www.ijsr.net/archive/v... [ijsr.net]
The citation https://www.ijsr.net/search_in... [ijsr.net], Volume 8 Issue 10, October 2019, 1170 - 1193
He'd make L. Ron Hubbard proud.
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My bad.. here's the head researcher's website.
http://teslastyle101.com/ [teslastyle101.com] unbelievable.
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âoeToday a young man on acid realized that all matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration, that we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively, there is no such thing as death, life is only a dream, and we are the imagination of ourselves. Here's Tom with the Weather.â
â Bill Hicks
This way to the egress... (Score:2)
If you're dumb enough to believe that 5G radiation is endangering you, then you are dumb enough to believe that a USB stick will protect you with its invisible shield. There's one born every minute.
Well duh (Score:3)
That's the costs to get "protection for your..." (Score:2)
The 5G shield (Score:2)
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And It Works! (Score:5, Insightful)
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Funny *and* insightful. How to mod? Oh, how to mod.
Tiger (Score:2)
I believe it was a tiger repelling rock, wasn't it? Where's that clip...
Compatible (Score:2)
Of course it works - one founder is Jack Bauer (Score:2)
He's in disguise, so he's using the nom de guerre of "Jacques Bauer" - tricky guy our Jack.
And, if you have any information that he needs, he'll shoot you in the thigh.
Masks? (Score:2)
What about masks.? I guess that they must block 5G also, since uhh
If these public health types wear masks then they must also know it blocks 5G so why the big secret? "They" don't want us to know how easy bocking 5G is. My wife, who has met several scientists in her life, tells me she is sure its the tie bands and that the elastic ones don't do the job. Honestly, the conspiracy is keeping them buying old usb sticks instead of cheap masks. But wait! Even older pricing - $2.73 a megabyte!
Going to market one twice as good (Score:2)
Mine will be twice as good (256 MB!) and I will charge $10 less. And it will encounter Enhanced 5G which might be started any day now.
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What about protection against 5G Evolution?
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You can update it via the internet, just connect to the webpage, download the troja.... update to the device and install on your computer.
What? If you scam someone, you can as well scam them twice.
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It's guaranteed to work equally well against 6G when that is developed!
WAIT! we've missed the most important part!!!! (Score:2)
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Ali express?
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.85 cent each on amazon in lots of 100.
Magnificently done. (Score:2)
I sometimes wish I had the chutzpah to be so straight up stringing together a pack of nothing. And getting other people's money for nothing (and chicks for free). So far, the only thing that I see that has some potential liability is the following, under the FAQ section, #3 "Does 5GBioShield USB key work with 3G, 4G and wifi as well?"
"The 5GBioShield is a full spectrum protection from all harmful ionised and non ionised radiation."
The way I read it, this will give me "full spectrum protection" from ionised
Quadro Tracker (Score:2)
Read up on the Quadro Tracker. It was a gadget sold to police departments, and the military(!), to find drugs, explosives, etc... It was a plastic box with a few wires and a transistor radio antenna screwed into it. That's it. No electronics or anything. They sold these things for $800.
Sold! (Score:2)
They must have gotten a load of unsold ones for close to free. They wouldn't be paying an arm and a leg to fire up an ancient assembly line from the mfgrs., like corporations with ancient legacy iron have to do from time to time.
John Cleese (Score:2)
Checked out their website -- masterful! I love this stuff.
Noo (Score:2)
Why did they reveal this? The closest thing we had to an idiot tax.
this reminds me of that antenna (Score:2)
Remember those stickers that were supposed to be special antenna that you stuck under the battery of your Nokia phone to passively increase reception? It claimed to be a nano thin material with a patented pattern that magically attracted radio signals.
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I saw the same sticker advertised as protecting against the cell radiation. Apparently it works both ways!
But it saves the 5G (Score:3)
By pointing out that selling $0.50 flash drives for $350 will stop idiots from knocking down 5G towers.. or regular towers they think are 5G
Investigators didn't understand product (Score:2)
The investigators didn't understand the product correctly so it's not surprising their analysis is flawed.
Everyone knows that it's essential to hook quantum nano-layer technology to your computer using gold cables and I see no evidence that the investigators did so.
Although, perhaps the seller could be faulted for not making that requirement clearer.
numbers game (Score:2)
With the Internet increasing your reach dramatically beyond the audible range of what you could shout from your waggon in previous times, selling snake oil has become an numbers game.
Sure it's ridiculous - like many phishing mails, it is intentionally so, to filter out the even slightly critical people who would only waste your time. No, you want the really dumb ones, who simply order and be happy.
And you don't need many. How much did it cost to set the whole thing up, website and all? A thousand bucks at m
Good (Score:2)
At least the fools are footing the bill this time instead of society. Maybe when it hits the own wallet to be willfully ignorant, they might start considering learning a viable alternative to believing bullshit.
Non-solution to a non-problem (Score:3)
No one deserves to be scammed, not even idiots. (Score:3)
At best, scammed idiots are just more idiot.
Some of the victims of this scam will realize they were abused, with all the bad consequences of being an abuse victim. Possibly turning ignorant or vulnerable people into mental disorder patients.
I am pretty-much shocked that most of the comments are about shaming the victims rather than questioning a society where legally established businesses are allowed to abuse people, and this, considered legacy business practices.
Remember that: You are always the idiot of someone-else.
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So it DOES protect 5G. See? It works!
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Glastonbury is well known for its "New Age" culture. Based near Glastonbury Tor, with the ruins of the Abbey nearby, it almost invented the concept of fleecing the gullible centuries ago. From the alleged visit by Joseph of Arimathea (and thus income from pilgrims), to the 'discovery' of the tomb of King Arthur and Guinevere the place has thrived on selling itself as 'different'.
So it's no surprise that they'd elect believers in new age 'woo'.
A quote from a friend who lives nearby - "go to Glastonbury - yo