An innovative way has been adopted by Tesco to stop supermarket thefts and catch thieves.&nbsp;

'Ominous' security robots, which are Dalek-like machines, now stand outside the stores to catch hold of the thieves with the help of 360-degree cameras.&nbsp;

The bots are placed near the entrance of Tesco stores and using an "angry Northern Irish accent", they shout at any intruders they detect while sending alerts to the authorities.&nbsp;

Even though this robot is proving efficient, it is not very cheap and one needs to pay £100,000 ($1,33,757) per month to hire it.

Speaking about it, Tesco said that they have been using security robots outside the stores at night when they are closed.

"This photo shows a security device which is used in some stores outside of opening hours, when needed, such as to prevent burglary or following damage to our property," said a Tesco spokesman.

Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/trending/china-develops-robot-which-can-shoot-like-a-bullet-at-the-sight-of-light-749199">China develops robot which can shoot like a bullet at the sight of light</a>

"The unit should not have been on the shop floor during opening hours," he added.

<h2>How does this angry robot work?</h2>

The device has yellow and blue chequered markings, similar to the UK Police, and is a PID360 security robot which has been created by Shropshire-based firm Deter Tech.

As per reports, the PID360 has been used around "at-risk" locations in Manchester, Bristol and Newcastle.&nbsp;

When an intruder is detected by the robot, a 114-decibel 'Star Wars-style' warning siren goes out along with flashing lights.&nbsp;

In Northern Irish voice, it then says, "Warning, this is security, your presence has been detected, the owner and police have been informed."

In less than a minute, a message, including an image of the intruder, is then sent to a central control room, manned by ex-police and military staff who will decide whether to call on-site security, the police, or a mobile response team."&nbsp;

As per&nbsp;Deter Tech, the robot is able to deter more than "80 per cent of intrusions" and&nbsp;it can be stationed in remote locations without any power.&nbsp;

"With its striking design, audio alerts, and LED illuminators, the PID360 serves as a powerful deterrent against intruders on your site," stated Deter Tech.&nbsp;

"It captures every activation with precision, and our dedicated team promptly reviews the footage and escalates any unauthorised presence detected," it added.

Meanwhile, Tesco staff has been mocking the device, with some even calling it "rather ominous", as reported by the Daily Star.&nbsp;

"My favourite thing about these is that they have northern Irish accents. I never thought of our accent to be unsettling but I guess they can be to some people lol," an employee was quoted as saying.&nbsp;

"I'm from NI and never seen one of these things, but I'm not surprised they'd get a guy from here to do the voice, supposed to be one of the most aggressive accents in the English-speaking world," said another.

(With inputs from agencies)

An innovative way has been adopted by Tesco to stop supermarket thefts and catch thieves. 'Ominous' security robots, which are Dalek-like machines, now stand outside the stores to catch hold of the thieves with the help of 360-degree cameras.

An innovative way has been adopted by Tesco to stop supermarket thefts and catch thieves. 'Ominous' security robots, which are Dalek-like machines, now stand outside the stores to catch hold of the thieves with the help of 360-degree cameras. The bots are placed near the entrance of Tesco stores and using an "angry Northern Irish accent", they shout at any intruders they detect while sending alerts to the authorities. Even though this robot is proving efficient, it is not very cheap and one needs to pay £100,000 ($1,33,757) per month to hire it. Speaking about it, Tesco said that they have been using security robots outside the stores at night when they are closed. "This photo shows a security device which is used in some stores outside of opening hours, when needed, such as to prevent burglary or following damage to our property," said a Tesco spokesman. Also Read: China develops robot which can shoot like a bullet at the sight of light "The unit should not have been on the shop floor during opening hours," he added. How does this angry robot work? The device has yellow and blue chequered markings, similar to the UK Police, and is a PID360 security robot which has been created by Shropshire-based firm Deter Tech. As per reports, the PID360 has been used around "at-risk" locations in Manchester, Bristol and Newcastle. When an intruder is detected by the robot, a 114-decibel 'Star Wars-style' warning siren goes out along with flashing lights. In Northern Irish voice, it then says, "Warning, this is security, your presence has been detected, the owner and police have been informed." In less than a minute, a message, including an image of the intruder, is then sent to a central control room, manned by ex-police and military staff who will decide whether to call on-site security, the police, or a mobile response team." As per Deter Tech, the robot is able to deter more than "80 per cent of intrusions" and it can be stationed in remote locations without any power. "With its striking design, audio alerts, and LED illuminators, the PID360 serves as a powerful deterrent against intruders on your site," stated Deter Tech. "It captures every activation with precision, and our dedicated team promptly reviews the footage and escalates any unauthorised presence detected," it added. Meanwhile, Tesco staff has been mocking the device, with some even calling it "rather ominous", as reported by the Daily Star. "My favourite thing about these is that they have northern Irish accents. I never thought of our accent to be unsettling but I guess they can be to some people lol," an employee was quoted as saying. "I'm from NI and never seen one of these things, but I'm not surprised they'd get a guy from here to do the voice, supposed to be one of the most aggressive accents in the English-speaking world," said another. (With inputs from agencies)

Robots turn into security guards: Angry bots installed to shout at thieves in UK, alert cops

With the use of multiple highly advanced tools, an Israeli group may have meddled in over 30 presidential elections, a fresh investigation has revealed. Hacking, sabotage and disinformation - spread using bots on social media - could have helped this company, which goes by the name of "Team Jorge". The investigation - carried over six months between July and December 2022 - was published this week by Forbidden stories, a French nonprofit. Journalists from 30 prominent outlets, including Le Monde, Der Spiegel and El País, are a part of the consortium that carried out the probe.&nbsp;

"Jorge" is the pseudonym used by Tal Hanan, a 50-year-old former Israeli special forces operative, who runs the company. "Team Jorge" is understood to be the codename used by his group. A group of undercover journalists tried to understand the method and the madness behind the data use. India is also believed to be on the list of affected countries.&nbsp;

Stunning details revealed during the investigation 
In its elaborate report, Forbidden Stories recalls the scandal linked to British firm Cambridge Analytica, which was accused of misuse of data of over 80 million Facebook users to influence elections in the United States. The political consulting firm was involved in the campaign of former US president Donald Trump. &nbsp;&nbsp;

The Forbidden Stories, however, pointed out that many of the culprits may have escaped the aftermath when the scandal was revealed. A prominent whistleblower in the matter - Brittany Kaiser - said that hackers were a team in charge of “opposition research". She is the company’s former development director. These mysterious hackers have been referred&nbsp;to as “Israeli black ops” in an internal email by Alexander Nix, former CEO of Cambridge Analytica, and their boss has been referred to by the alias "Jorge".&nbsp;

The report also talks about continuing the disinformation investigation by Indian journalist Gauri Lankesh, who was murdered in 2017 in Bengaluru."Almost five years after the Cambridge Analytica scandal, journalists from the Forbidden Stories consortium managed to identify and track down Jorge. Using dubious methods, the Israeli 'consultant' still goes by this same pseudonym and continues to sell his influence and manipulation services to the highest bidder," it reads.&nbsp;

 
Tools and technology employed by "Team Jorge"&nbsp; 
When Jorge was consulted by an undercover journalist, who introduced himself as a representative of an African leader,&nbsp;he sought 6 million euros to help influence or cancel an election. During the subsequent conversations amid the investigation, Jorge revealed details about so-called secret operations.&nbsp;A major controversy in France is said to be related to&nbsp;such operations.&nbsp;

BFM TV, a popular French television channel, recently suspended one of its most prominent figures - Rachid M’Barki - over allegations of spreading misinformation. “Maybe I was tricked. I did not have the impression that was the case, or that I was participating in an operation, otherwise I wouldn’t have done it," Rachid said later on his alleged association with the Israeli company that claims to have journalists on its payroll for various objectives.&nbsp;

Bot networks, false information, and hacking of opponents are other tools that have helped Jorge in his questionable pursuits. He also stressed that apart from advanced technology, he relied on building a narrative.&nbsp;

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&nbsp;

Another tool that the group has reportedly used is &nbsp;AIMS: “Advanced Impact Media Solutions", which is not searchable on the web. The bot management software is apparently used to "spread stories using an army of avatars hosted in and run with an online platform". The report also cites "a catalogue of over 30,000 automated profiles of virtual people with real accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Amazon, and Bitcoin" with Jorge in 2022 that were a part of his so-called digital inventory.&nbsp;

During his interaction, Hanan spoke of the use of this bot management software to order a sex toy on Amazon so that a politician could be proven to be unfaithful in front of his wife. The AIMS avatars took a hard line against the UK Health and Safety Agency in 2021.&nbsp;

The group also resorted to hacking&nbsp; 
Hacking was one weapon often used against targets. Unaware that his conversation with the reporters was being recorded, Hanan also revealed how the private messaging systems of several high-level African officials were hacked. They targeted Gmail and Telegram accounts during such operations. "Once inside the messaging system of a victim, Jorge was then able to impersonate conversations with their contacts. Jorge proceeded to send messages to the victims’ relatives from their hacked Telegram accounts," the report reads.&nbsp;

The Israeli group is said to have 100 employees globally and "a combination of former intelligence officers and communications and security experts" have confirmed the extent of the activities and the nature of the business.&nbsp;

As India and the United States prepare for elections next year, the stunning investigation has highlighted massive challenges facing social media networks and other platforms over data privacy and spread of misinformation. The Israeli group also has corporate clients.&nbsp;

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

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You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us <a href="https://www.wionews.com/content-contribution-registration-form">here</a>.

With the use of multiple highly advanced tools, an Israeli group may have meddled in over 30 presidential elections, a fresh investigation has revealed. Hacking, sabotage and disinformation - spread using bots on social media - could have helped this company, which goes by the name of "Team Jorge".

With the use of multiple highly advanced tools, an Israeli group may have meddled in over 30 presidential elections, a fresh investigation has revealed. Hacking, sabotage and disinformation - spread using bots on social media - could have helped this company, which goes by the name of "Team Jorge". The investigation - carried over six months between July and December 2022 - was published this week by Forbidden stories, a French nonprofit. Journalists from 30 prominent outlets, including Le Monde, Der Spiegel and El País, are a part of the consortium that carried out the probe. "Jorge" is the pseudonym used by Tal Hanan, a 50-year-old former Israeli special forces operative, who runs the company. "Team Jorge" is understood to be the codename used by his group. A group of undercover journalists tried to understand the method and the madness behind the data use. India is also believed to be on the list of affected countries. Stunning details revealed during the investigation In its elaborate report, Forbidden Stories recalls the scandal linked to British firm Cambridge Analytica, which was accused of misuse of data of over 80 million Facebook users to influence elections in the United States. The political consulting firm was involved in the campaign of former US president Donald Trump. The Forbidden Stories, however, pointed out that many of the culprits may have escaped the aftermath when the scandal was revealed. A prominent whistleblower in the matter - Brittany Kaiser - said that hackers were a team in charge of “opposition research". She is the company’s former development director. These mysterious hackers have been referred to as “Israeli black ops” in an internal email by Alexander Nix, former CEO of Cambridge Analytica, and their boss has been referred to by the alias "Jorge". The report also talks about continuing the disinformation investigation by Indian journalist Gauri Lankesh, who was murdered in 2017 in Bengaluru."Almost five years after the Cambridge Analytica scandal, journalists from the Forbidden Stories consortium managed to identify and track down Jorge. Using dubious methods, the Israeli 'consultant' still goes by this same pseudonym and continues to sell his influence and manipulation services to the highest bidder," it reads. Tools and technology employed by "Team Jorge" When Jorge was consulted by an undercover journalist, who introduced himself as a representative of an African leader, he sought 6 million euros to help influence or cancel an election. During the subsequent conversations amid the investigation, Jorge revealed details about so-called secret operations. A major controversy in France is said to be related to such operations. BFM TV, a popular French television channel, recently suspended one of its most prominent figures - Rachid M’Barki - over allegations of spreading misinformation. “Maybe I was tricked. I did not have the impression that was the case, or that I was participating in an operation, otherwise I wouldn’t have done it," Rachid said later on his alleged association with the Israeli company that claims to have journalists on its payroll for various objectives. Bot networks, false information, and hacking of opponents are other tools that have helped Jorge in his questionable pursuits. He also stressed that apart from advanced technology, he relied on building a narrative. × Another tool that the group has reportedly used is AIMS: “Advanced Impact Media Solutions", which is not searchable on the web. The bot management software is apparently used to "spread stories using an army of avatars hosted in and run with an online platform". The report also cites "a catalogue of over 30,000 automated profiles of virtual people with real accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Amazon, and Bitcoin" with Jorge in 2022 that were a part of his so-called digital inventory. During his interaction, Hanan spoke of the use of this bot management software to order a sex toy on Amazon so that a politician could be proven to be unfaithful in front of his wife. The AIMS avatars took a hard line against the UK Health and Safety Agency in 2021. The group also resorted to hacking Hacking was one weapon often used against targets. Unaware that his conversation with the reporters was being recorded, Hanan also revealed how the private messaging systems of several high-level African officials were hacked. They targeted Gmail and Telegram accounts during such operations. "Once inside the messaging system of a victim, Jorge was then able to impersonate conversations with their contacts. Jorge proceeded to send messages to the victims’ relatives from their hacked Telegram accounts," the report reads. The Israeli group is said to have 100 employees globally and "a combination of former intelligence officers and communications and security experts" have confirmed the extent of the activities and the nature of the business. As India and the United States prepare for elections next year, the stunning investigation has highlighted massive challenges facing social media networks and other platforms over data privacy and spread of misinformation. The Israeli group also has corporate clients. WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Explained: How an Israeli group 'Team Jorge' meddled with elections in 30 nations 

With the lawsuit between social media giant Twitter and billionaire Elon Musk heating up, experts believe that the technology that can act as deciding factor in the battle is bots.

Twitter sued Tesla CEO Elon Musk after he backed away from his $44 billion offer to buy the company.&nbsp;

Musk, who is the world's richest man, said he was provided a fake tally of fake or spam accounts.

Bots, which are ubiquitous and often unloved technology, could prove to be a vital factor in the lawsuit as per analysts.

With the aim of emulating how people behave, bots are software programs that do automated tasks online.

Also see |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/what-happens-next-in-the-musk-twitter-saga-496703">What happens next in the Musk-Twitter saga?</a>

From a ban on posting about hot topics to trying to influence online conversations, Twitter has strict policies in place about automated actions by accounts.

While Twitter has claimed that bots are less than five percent of users on its platform, Musk believes that the platform made "false and misleading representations" about bots.

Due to the determination of the tally in part by Twitter's internal definitions and the workers who apply the rules, ascertaining the number of bots on the site is a bit of an art.

Bot weeding process, which includes checking IP or email address or other sensitive user data, can be tricky for an outsider like Musk to confirm.

With its tricky, detailed and case-by-case aspects, speculation has mounted that the bot issue is just a convenient route for Musk to abandon or renegotiate his proposal. 
&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

Watch WION's live TV here:

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With the lawsuit between social media giant Twitter and billionaire Elon Musk heating up, experts believe that the technology that can act as deciding factor in the battle is bots.

With the lawsuit between social media giant Twitter and billionaire Elon Musk heating up, experts believe that the technology that can act as deciding factor in the battle is bots. Twitter sued Tesla CEO Elon Musk after he backed away from his $44 billion offer to buy the company. Musk, who is the world's richest man, said he was provided a fake tally of fake or spam accounts. Bots, which are ubiquitous and often unloved technology, could prove to be a vital factor in the lawsuit as per analysts. With the aim of emulating how people behave, bots are software programs that do automated tasks online. Also see | What happens next in the Musk-Twitter saga? From a ban on posting about hot topics to trying to influence online conversations, Twitter has strict policies in place about automated actions by accounts. While Twitter has claimed that bots are less than five percent of users on its platform, Musk believes that the platform made "false and misleading representations" about bots. Due to the determination of the tally in part by Twitter's internal definitions and the workers who apply the rules, ascertaining the number of bots on the site is a bit of an art. Bot weeding process, which includes checking IP or email address or other sensitive user data, can be tricky for an outsider like Musk to confirm. With its tricky, detailed and case-by-case aspects, speculation has mounted that the bot issue is just a convenient route for Musk to abandon or renegotiate his proposal. (With inputs from agencies) Watch WION's live TV here:

What is the technology that can act as deciding factor in Twitter-Musk lawsuit?

Elon Musk wants Twitter to prove that less than 5% of its users are bots. The billionaire says he won't proceed with his takeover until evidence is produced. Will Musk walk away from the Twitter deal? Molly Gambhir gets you the details.

Gravitas: Did Elon Musk troll Twitter CEO with a poop emoji?

Just weeks after finalising a $44 billion deal to buy social media platform Twitter, Elon Musk looks tempted to throw in the towel. What's the reason? He blames it on spam bots.

The battle over Bots: Is Elon Musk trying to renegotiate the $44 billion Twitter offer?

The next generation of robots are expected to transform sector after sector of the economy and all of our daily lives. WION tells you more about the rise of robots in this report.

The rise of bots: An automated system with a humanoid robot

Bots have a bad rep. Shady manipulators have used these automated computer programs on social networks to spread conspiracy theories, spew vitriol and scam people. But when bots are programmed to do good, they can help us accomplish the seemingly impossible.

Take buying a PlayStation 5. Since the Sony console was released in November, it has been hard to find in physical and online stores, partly because a global chip shortage has slowed down manufacturing of all kinds of tech products, from graphics cards to automobiles.

As a result, when the new PlayStation appears online on sites like Amazon, Target and Best Buy, it sells out in minutes — sometimes seconds. Sony has said that demand for the PlayStation 5 is unprecedented and that supply constraints could continue through next year. That makes the odds of buying the console feel as random as winning the lottery.

Someone is buying them, though, and the lucky few I’ve talked to relied on some form of automation.

“It’s really difficult to get one without any bots,” said SV Yesvanth, an information security engineer who wrote a web script to automatically scan online stores for available consoles after his own struggles to buy one in Hyderabad, India. After he succeeded in buying a PlayStation, he said, he connected his bot to a Twitter account and helped hundreds of other eager shoppers.

This month, I joined the club. I volunteered to help a friend who had been trying to buy a PlayStation for six months. After setting up several Twitter bots to blast alerts to my phone as new consoles were stocked, I managed to snag one within a week. It wasn’t easy — I failed three times on Best Buy’s website and ultimately succeeded with GameStop. But the bots gave me a necessary edge to beat thousands of others furiously refreshing their web browsers.

You can’t pick just any bot and expect to land the device. I interviewed several creators of automated tools that have helped people score PlayStations. They said there were traps to avoid, like scammy bots purporting to sell consoles. There are also some hidden tricks to speed up orders. Here’s what you need to know.

Bots can be your friend …

Dozens of bots online publish a post on Twitter whenever a retailer refreshes its inventory with more PlayStations. They all generally work the same way: They search an online store’s web code for a signal — like an “add to cart” button — indicating that the PlayStation is back in stock. As soon as they detect that the console is available, they publish an alert on Twitter.

The first step is to follow trustworthy bots. Here are some reliable Twitter accounts I vetted:

— @PS5StockAlerts, which tweets when consoles are available at Best Buy, Sam’s Club and Walmart, among others.

— @mattswider, which initially relied on information from bots for restock updates but is now curated entirely by Matt Swider, the editor-in-chief of the blog TechRadar. Swider gets a heads-up from sources at big-box retailers and some independent stores before they refresh PlayStation inventory, he said.

— @ps5_india, the account run by SV Yesvanth, has a small following focused on obtaining a PlayStation in India, where it has been especially challenging to buy the console.

— @iloveps_5, a bot hosted by Kevin Hirczy, a software developer in Austria. Hirczy’s bot focuses on PlayStation availability in Europe.

You could scan your Twitter feed for in-stock alerts from these accounts. But a more efficient route is to set up notifications to show up on your phone whenever the accounts tweet. To do that, download the Twitter mobile app and allow it to push notifications to your phone. Then follow Twitter’s instructions to set specific accounts to send notifications to your phone when they tweet.

Once you see that consoles have come back in stock, don’t hesitate: Click through and add the item to the cart as quickly as you can.

... but most bots should be avoided

The risky part about relying on bots is that more often than not, you will run into scammers. The general rule of thumb: Avoid Twitter accounts offering to sell you a PlayStation 5 directly. Once they receive your payment, you probably won’t hear from them again.

So be very careful about which Twitter accounts you follow. Some scammers use account names and avatars that closely resemble the names of legitimate accounts. It’s best to follow only accounts that post links to trusted retailers.

“The scary thing is there are so many scam accounts that try to piggyback off legitimate accounts,” Swider said. “It’s hard to tell them apart.”

Other bots to avoid are the automatic checkout tools, like browser add-ons that refresh websites and try to order the PlayStation for you. Many retailer sites have systems that detect orders placed by nonhumans, so using these tools could cause your order to fail, SV Yesvanth said.

There are hidden tricks

Beyond following some bots and setting up alerts for your phone, you can tilt the odds in your favor with a few more steps:

— On retail sites such as GameStop and Best Buy, create a membership account and fill out your mailing address and credit card information ahead of time. This will speed up checkout by valuable seconds, Swider said.

— In rare cases, PlayStation orders have failed in the middle of a credit card transaction. On some store sites, like Amazon, you can buy gift credit for yourself, which allows you to skip the credit card verification process, SV Yesvanth said. (The downside is this strategy commits you to trying to buy the console from a specific retailer.)

— Some online stores have quirks. On Best Buy, for example, you shouldn’t refresh the website after clicking the “add to cart” button — that could cause you to lose your PlayStation. Swider regularly streams live YouTube videos walking people through the different checkout processes, and SV Yesvanth and Hirczy host group chats on Discord where people discuss what’s working for them.

At the end of the day, the sheer amount of effort to buy a product may sound absurd. But in an era when frantic shoppers compete even for hand sanitizer and toilet paper, bots may lead the path to victory.

Bots have a bad rep. Shady manipulators have used these automated computer programs on social networks to spread conspiracy theories, spew vitriol and scam people.

Bots have a bad rep. Shady manipulators have used these automated computer programs on social networks to spread conspiracy theories, spew vitriol and scam people. But when bots are programmed to do good, they can help us accomplish the seemingly impossible. Take buying a PlayStation 5. Since the Sony console was released in November, it has been hard to find in physical and online stores, partly because a global chip shortage has slowed down manufacturing of all kinds of tech products, from graphics cards to automobiles. As a result, when the new PlayStation appears online on sites like Amazon, Target and Best Buy, it sells out in minutes — sometimes seconds. Sony has said that demand for the PlayStation 5 is unprecedented and that supply constraints could continue through next year. That makes the odds of buying the console feel as random as winning the lottery. Someone is buying them, though, and the lucky few I’ve talked to relied on some form of automation. “It’s really difficult to get one without any bots,” said SV Yesvanth, an information security engineer who wrote a web script to automatically scan online stores for available consoles after his own struggles to buy one in Hyderabad, India. After he succeeded in buying a PlayStation, he said, he connected his bot to a Twitter account and helped hundreds of other eager shoppers. This month, I joined the club. I volunteered to help a friend who had been trying to buy a PlayStation for six months. After setting up several Twitter bots to blast alerts to my phone as new consoles were stocked, I managed to snag one within a week. It wasn’t easy — I failed three times on Best Buy’s website and ultimately succeeded with GameStop. But the bots gave me a necessary edge to beat thousands of others furiously refreshing their web browsers. You can’t pick just any bot and expect to land the device. I interviewed several creators of automated tools that have helped people score PlayStations. They said there were traps to avoid, like scammy bots purporting to sell consoles. There are also some hidden tricks to speed up orders. Here’s what you need to know. Bots can be your friend … Dozens of bots online publish a post on Twitter whenever a retailer refreshes its inventory with more PlayStations. They all generally work the same way: They search an online store’s web code for a signal — like an “add to cart” button — indicating that the PlayStation is back in stock. As soon as they detect that the console is available, they publish an alert on Twitter. The first step is to follow trustworthy bots. Here are some reliable Twitter accounts I vetted: — @PS5StockAlerts, which tweets when consoles are available at Best Buy, Sam’s Club and Walmart, among others. — @mattswider, which initially relied on information from bots for restock updates but is now curated entirely by Matt Swider, the editor-in-chief of the blog TechRadar. Swider gets a heads-up from sources at big-box retailers and some independent stores before they refresh PlayStation inventory, he said. — @ps5_india, the account run by SV Yesvanth, has a small following focused on obtaining a PlayStation in India, where it has been especially challenging to buy the console. — @iloveps_5, a bot hosted by Kevin Hirczy, a software developer in Austria. Hirczy’s bot focuses on PlayStation availability in Europe. You could scan your Twitter feed for in-stock alerts from these accounts. But a more efficient route is to set up notifications to show up on your phone whenever the accounts tweet. To do that, download the Twitter mobile app and allow it to push notifications to your phone. Then follow Twitter’s instructions to set specific accounts to send notifications to your phone when they tweet. Once you see that consoles have come back in stock, don’t hesitate: Click through and add the item to the cart as quickly as you can. ... but most bots should be avoided The risky part about relying on bots is that more often than not, you will run into scammers. The general rule of thumb: Avoid Twitter accounts offering to sell you a PlayStation 5 directly. Once they receive your payment, you probably won’t hear from them again. So be very careful about which Twitter accounts you follow. Some scammers use account names and avatars that closely resemble the names of legitimate accounts. It’s best to follow only accounts that post links to trusted retailers. “The scary thing is there are so many scam accounts that try to piggyback off legitimate accounts,” Swider said. “It’s hard to tell them apart.” Other bots to avoid are the automatic checkout tools, like browser add-ons that refresh websites and try to order the PlayStation for you. Many retailer sites have systems that detect orders placed by nonhumans, so using these tools could cause your order to fail, SV Yesvanth said. There are hidden tricks Beyond following some bots and setting up alerts for your phone, you can tilt the odds in your favor with a few more steps: — On retail sites such as GameStop and Best Buy, create a membership account and fill out your mailing address and credit card information ahead of time. This will speed up checkout by valuable seconds, Swider said. — In rare cases, PlayStation orders have failed in the middle of a credit card transaction. On some store sites, like Amazon, you can buy gift credit for yourself, which allows you to skip the credit card verification process, SV Yesvanth said. (The downside is this strategy commits you to trying to buy the console from a specific retailer.) — Some online stores have quirks. On Best Buy, for example, you shouldn’t refresh the website after clicking the “add to cart” button — that could cause you to lose your PlayStation. Swider regularly streams live YouTube videos walking people through the different checkout processes, and SV Yesvanth and Hirczy host group chats on Discord where people discuss what’s working for them. At the end of the day, the sheer amount of effort to buy a product may sound absurd. But in an era when frantic shoppers compete even for hand sanitizer and toilet paper, bots may lead the path to victory.

Want to buy a PlayStation 5? Befriend a bot.

bots

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