VeriChip

[Syvarius]

So, I have a question for anyone if they have any personal information on the subject. I'm looking into something called VeriChip, and what you can do if you happen to find out that one has been stuck in your arm during a time while you were being given an IV in the hospital.

Has anyone here ever had a VeriChip implanted in them without their knowing? Or even with their knowing? How do you get it out?

Although I'm using google to look up information on the subject, I'm asking here also to see if anyone had any personal experience with this thing that they could share...

Thanks.

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Edit - Here's an image of the chip I'm talking about: http://justgetthere.us/blog/uploads/VeriChip.jpg
Edit # 2 - I've posted more information about this on my blog HERE.

[John Mora]

Re: VeriChip

There's a simple answer: visit the doctor and see if he or she can find out for you. Until then, this is just sort of paranoia.

[Valkysas]

Re: VeriChip

Was this just recently? Because that's normal with IVs. Because they jam a needle in the vein. It inflames.

[The_Real_Crunk]

Re: VeriChip

Well now you're screwed. If you ask them to remove it, they will tell you they did, but it will still be there. They put it there for a reason.

Better bust out your tinfoil hat.

[Thutmose]

Re: VeriChip

I actually own a couple of these.

Subcutaneous RFID tags.

I've thought about having one implanted in myself, actually.

Unless you were TOTALLY out of it, you would have noticed if one of these things were put into you. They have to be inserted via large-gauge needle (I'm talking like one of those Cajun flavor-injector needles large). It would be way bigger than an IV needle. Trust me, you'd notice.

The chips themselves are definitely large enough to where if one is implanted, you'd be able to feel it through your skin (the "grain of rice" stuff is paranoid BS - yeah, they might be as big as a REALLY big variety of rice, but no where near as small as a typical grain of white rice). They don't necessarily leave a bump or scar either.

TBH - there is a lot of paranoia about RFID chip implants. Realistically, the technology is so primitive that there are way better ways of tracking a person. The maximum read distance on one of these subcutaneous RFID tags is about three inches, tops. So if someone were to implant you with one for some reason, they'd need to be right on top of you with a bulky reader unit to get anything from the chip. A good photograph of your face would be a better way for someone to track you without you knowing. Heck, your drivers license, ID, or credit cards tell someone way more information about you than a chip would - and with those things, the person doesn't need special reader equipment, just their eyes.

Given the billion other ways of tracking someone that leave no trace using modern technology, I can't imagine why some shady group using hospitals to tag people would ever do such a thing. It's totally impractical, and doesn't make technological sense. The company that makes VeriChip specifically is a commercial company - implanting a chip in someone without them knowing doesn't make sense, because the person implanted wouldn't be paying the company's monthly fee. It would be like giving away their product for free.

But, if none of that assuages your fears, and you're so totally paranoid about this that you can't sleep at night, regardless how absurd the idea is, there is a solution for you.

All you have to do is build yourself an RFID Zapper (do a google search for schematics). It creates a localized electromagnetic pulse that will destroy the circuitry of any RFID tag. Keep the Zapper away from computers, airports, etc.

As for your cancer concerns - you are exposed to millions of times more radiation while talking on a cell phone that you would be with an implanted tag. The tags are entirely powerless, and only receive and emit radio signals when they are being read by a reading device. These tags only emit cancerous radiation on "JESUS IS COMING" type websites.

The chip itself would have to be coated in an anti-migration coating, so that it knits into an animal's flesh to keep it stable. I haven't heard of anything like cancer resulting from this (except at END OF THE WORLD type sites, and a few ambiguos medical studies on animals). If it gives a person cancer, I think that might be bad for the shady organization implanting people with it secretly, 'cause the implanted person would find out sooner or later. Typically the chips people implant in themselves don't have this coating, as it makes the chips a bit more difficult to remove later.

Also - please, don't pay attention to most of the stuff you read online about these tags. The internet is filled to the brim with nut-jobs saying these things are the mark of the devil, the end of the world is coming, 666, the x-files, government conspiracy, blah blah blah. It all speaks to a profound misunderstanding of the technology. Anyone who has actually worked with RFID technology, such as myself, would know that the potential for abuse of subcutaneous RFID tags is minimal at present. Someone might as well be trying to "steal your brain waves".

The more real threat is RFID in credit cards, ID cards, and passports. And, even then, the threat is from criminals trying to steal your identity - not some group of men in black suits trying to track you, for some reason that doesn't make any sense.

Bottom line - it doesn't make any kind of sense (except maybe to people with schizophrenia) to implant people with VeriChip secretly. The best tracking methods don't leave such an obvious physical trace, and work way better than RFID would. Further - these chips only contain a unique ID code of 16 digits. It's useless to anybody who doesn't have access to the proprietary VeriChip database (unlike credit card numbers, which are not proprietary).

[Syvarius]

Re: VeriChip

Unless you were TOTALLY out of it, you would have noticed if one of these things were put into you. They have to be inserted via large-gauge needle (I'm talking like one of those Cajun flavor-injector needles large). It would be way bigger than an IV needle. Trust me, you'd notice.

A large gauge needle. Thank you for mentioning this. I just looked this up on google for images of this, and I've had something like this put into my arm in the place where this bump is. It was when I was having my blood drawn from the hospital in Mount Shasta quite a few months ago, from which they put needles into my arm three times before they were able to get blood out. They used two different types of needles, one of which was much larger than what they usually used, and the other the normal size which they usually use to draw blood with. They didn't get any blood with this large needle. My put needles into my arm twice on my left arm, and once on my right. The larger needle that was used caught my attention at the time, because it had handles on the end that resembled the handles on a pair of scissors.

But anyway, thank you for your response. Maybe I'm just imagining this tiny bump in my arm. I was just thinking it's not something that's supposed to be there because it's present in my left arm but not my right arm.

If I figure out more as to whether or not there's actually a chip in my arm, I'll let you guys know.

[John Mora]

Re: VeriChip

I think this is one of the most ludicrous health-related topics that has ever graced the Pavilion.

[DK]

Re: VeriChip

Did you make sure that your kidneys were still intact and accounted for?

[facts]

Re: VeriChip

I think the fact that people are taking this topic like completely serious is more ludicrous.

[Big Rick Cook]

Re: VeriChip

I was just thinking it's not something that's supposed to be there because it's present in my left arm but not my right arm.

There are innumerable ways in which asymmetries can form on the human body, or are naturally present from birth that you might just not see until you think someone implanted you with a chip.

Just saying.

[Karr Lord of Chaos]

Re: VeriChip

who cares about a tag? think of what they can do with your dna that they drew from your arm.

[Syvarius]

Re: VeriChip

I've done enough research on the subject now. This topic can be closed.

Thanks.