Scammers flog £339 ‘anti-5G bioshield’ – but it’s just a memory stick with a sticker on it
A DEVICE costing over £300 that promises to protect buyers from the supposed dangers of 5G is simply a memory sticker with a sticker on it.
The anti-5G "bioshield" purports to project a wearable holographic layer around a user that blocks 5G radiation.
The scammers behind it are cashing in on recent conspiracy theories that have spread the dangerous idea that 5G spreads coronavirus.
Of course, the rumour is total nonsense and has been widely debunked by scientists, including experts at the .
That hasn't stopped makers of the 5GBioShield from trying to cash in on the conspiracy theory by claiming to block the "electric fog" of 5G.
They claim their gadget "provides protection for your home and family, thanks to the wearable holographic nano-layer catalyser.
"It can be worn or placed near to a smartphone or any other electrical, radiation or EMF [electromagnetic field] emitting device.
"Through a process of quantum oscillation, the 5GBioShield USB key balances and re-harmonises the disturbing frequencies arising from the electric fog induced by devices, such as laptops, cordless phones, wi-fi, tablets, et cetera," they add.
To test the bogus device out, Pen Test Partners, a company which specialises in taking apart consumer gadgets to see what's inside, took a look.
They found that the 5GBioShield is simply a £5 USB memory stick with just 128MB of storage.
What is 5G?
Here's what you need to know...
- The term 5G stands for 5th-generation, and is simply the next "version" of mobile phone networks.
- The world's network operators have settled on a new method of delivering mobile internet to your phone, making it possible to offer far higher download speeds.
- Early figures suggest you'll be able to download 4K movies in a matter of seconds, and buffering video will be a thing of the past.
- But 5G also promises low "latency" – the physical delay in transmitting data – which is a major boon for gamers, who desperately need their online actions to be sent and received as quickly as possible.
- EE is first across the line in the UK, with 5G live in London, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Belfast, Birmingham or Manchester.
- The good news is that EE plans to roll out 5G in a further 10 cities by the end of 2019: Glasgow, Newcastle, Liverpool, Leeds, Hull, Sheffield, Nottingham, Leicester, Coventry and Bristol.
- Vodafone has also switched on 5G in seven cities: Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Manchester, Liverpool, and London.
To add a bit of flare, the 5GBioShield's creators appear to have stuck a shiny sticker on it.
"Now, we're not 5G quantum experts but said sticker looks remarkably like one available in sheets from stationery suppliers for less than a penny each," Pen Test Partners' Ken Munro said.
Ken and his colleague Phil Eveleigh dismantled the device and found an LED light on the circuit board – the same found inside any memory stick.
London Trading Standards has since told the it has launched a probe into the scam.
Experts recently declared that 5G radiation is safe are safe to use and won't damage your health.
Radiation watchdog ICNIRP revealed its findings after studying seven years of scientific evidence.
And in a new ruling for March 2020, it decreed that radiation from 5G phones cannot cause harm under current guidelines.
Tougher radiation limits are now being enforced for 5G handsets to help reassure customers worried by online conspiracy theories.
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