http://central.fraudfighter.com/fraud-fighter-blog/

Come on over and have a look – we’ve posted 40 articles in the last 4 months!
Sean Trundy – “the” Counterfeit Fraud Fighter & COO, UVeritech, Inc.

Pennsylvania Driver License

This couldn’t be further from the truth.  In fact, UV fluorescent features are present in an amazing array of documents, ranging from official identification documents, to negotiable instruments, government documents, contracts, title documents and more.

Currency is the “big news” item, since so many people hear about and have experience with getting hit by counterfeit money.  It is interesting to note that U.S. currency was among the last world currency to get on the band-wagon and add UV features.  Much of the world had been using UV security on its currency for years, and even decades.

So, we find that today, the majority of world currencies can be verified using UV technology. However, currency verification is only the “tip of the iceberg” in the realm of UV document authentication.  Following is a sample list of items that can be verified using UV:

• US Driver Licenses (42 states)
• Passports from over 100 countries
• Currency from over 100 countries
• US Birth Certificates
• US Social Security Cards
• All major Credit Cards
• All major traveler’s checks
• Gift Checks from major branded providers (AMEX, VISA, MasterCard, Discover)
• Vehicle Title Documents
• Foreign Visas
• Mexican Matricula Consular
• Casino Chips
• U.S. Treasury Checks
• U.S. Postal Money orders
• Many bank-issued official checks (e.g. – Money orders and Cashiers Checks)

The above list is not exhaustive, but serves only as an example of the remarkable flexibility of UV as a tool to be used at the point-of-transaction for just about any type of business.

The U.S. Secret Service has an interesting press release in which they discuss a bust earlier this year.   http://www.secretservice.gov/press/GPA04-09_Peru-CFT.pdf   Interesting pictures of the equipment they used and the plates.

In discussions with our friends at the Secret Service, we have learned that these advanced notes are nearly undetectable by the naked eye, and that the “currency detector pens” are unable to detect these Peruvian “super notes”.

However, the Peruvian counterfeits do not have a fluorescent UV feature.  While the counterfeit notes DO have a security “strip” with accurate micro-printing, the strip does not fluoresce under long-wave UV light.

Our experience has shown that counterfeit notes almost NEVER have a fluorescent feature. When they do, they are typically not accurate.

We heard that many banks are willing to cash these warrants (www.bloomberg.com) for a limited time, and also that private markets to trade the warrants (NPR News Story) have begun to spring-up.

Interest piqued, I set-out to determine whether these “Registered Warrants” might have counterfeit prevention security features.  After calling many of our  customers (banks, credit unions, etc) we lucked out when our VP of  Sales, John Herlihy, saw someone depositing a warrant at our local WAMU (excuse me, Chase) branch.  He asked the branch manager if they could look at it under one of the FraudFighter detectors they have in all Chase branches, and voila!  clear as day a bright, repeating image of the California State Seal appears under long wave UV light.

So, if you are going to be cashing these warrants, or are considering in investing, or accepting one as payment of a debt, you should use a UV detector to confirm that the warrant has the correct fluorescing UV security features.

Counterfeiters use genuine $5 bills because it allows them to create counterfeits with paper that is the same as a real banknote.  This allows the counterfeit note to pass a variety of “basic” counterfeit tests. First they “wash” the images off the $5 bill by using any number of different solvent solutions. If performed properly, the washing process will not harm the paper and certain security characteristics of the original bill. This effectively provides a counterfeiter with a blank piece of genuine currency paper upon which they can print a larger denomination note – typically $100 bills. The counterfeit note will easily pass the “counterfeit pen” test because the pen simply performs a litmus test on the paper – which in this case is genuine currency paper. The fake bill will also have both a security thread and a watermark in it – although neither feature will be correct for the $100 bill. The typical “eye-ball” review of these features will not be able to detect this fact.

Particularly adept counterfeiters can wash the $5 bill without damaging the magnetic ink, thus, even counterfeit detectors looking for magnetic features my falsely identify these fake $100 bills as genuine.

UV counterfeit detection units are capable of identifying this type of “washed $100”. Ultra-violet detectors will cause the $5 security thread to glow blue. This is an instant and easy-to-see indicator that the $100 bill is fake, because the genuine security thread in a $100 bill should appear as a very pale pink color, NOT blue.

More advanced bill verifier units, such as the Fraud Fighter CT-1000, will also identify these notes as fake as it actually reads and verifies a number of different features in combination. Including the image itself, infra-red features, magnetic features, ultra-violet features, bill size (which differs slightly from denomination to denomination) and several other factors.

It is estimated that skimming costs consumers and credit card companies more than $8.5 billion per year. This practice continues to evolve and grow.

Skimming is the process in which a special reader or scanner is used to copy the encoded data from the magnetic strip on a credit card or ATM card.  Such readers are most commonly attached to an ATM machine but are also now being found across the country at gas pumps, DVD rental machines, or any other self pay station.  Skimming also can occur at your local restaurant with the waiter using a small, portable battery-powered card reader carried on their person.  These “mag -readers” are used to capture and steal the information from the magnetic strips on customers’  credit cards.

At the ATM machine, the skimmer often uses a mag-reader in conjunction with a hidden camera nearby so they can record individuals typing their PIN numbers. With this information, they can  duplicate the ATM cards and use them in conjunction with the stolen PINs.  This type pf crime is highly organized – typically part of a larger criminal operation.  Upon successfully reproducing ATM cards that are functional, they will employ a team of runners to empty out the owners’ bank accounts in a number of small transactions in geographically dispersed locations.  If the skimmed card is a bank credit card, often the data is transmitted across the country or overseas to make thousands of fraudulent cloned credit cards.

What can consumers do to protect themselves from skimming?  Always check credit card statements for uncommon charges.   Never allow a credit card to be swiped out of view, beware of “shoulder-surfers” – people who loiter around ATMs trying to read the PIN as you enter it. “Skimming” is also common, where thieves corrupt an ATM’s magnetic-strip or install a fake card reader over the normal device on an ATM.  Try shaking the area where your card goes in. If it has a skimmer, it will be obvious because they’re designed to be installed and uninstalled quickly.  If you suspect there may be a skimmer on the ATM, let the bank or gas station know.

Check credit and banking statements carefully. Scrutinize every charge and refute any unauthorized charges within 30-60 days.  Call bank/credit card companies immediately if any fraudulent activity is seen.  As a preventative measure, invest in an identity theft protection program for a monthly fee or consider a credit freeze to help prevent identify theft.

How can businesses protect themselves from skimmed credit cards?  UV counterfeit detectors can quickly verify the authenticity of a credit card and will detect and deter most cloned cards.   All major credit cards include hidden security features that cannot be seen with the naked eye that were added for the protection of US businesses.  These features become visible under a UV detector.  For example a MasterCard will display glowing letters “M C” under a UV light while a Visa will show a “V” near the logo and an American Express will display a fluorescing AMEX under the detector.

Cloned credit cards are not made from the proper security stock and therefore will not include these security features.  The UV detectors can also assist in detecting a stolen credit card since almost all state ID cards now include hidden UV security features.  A UV detector can quickly be used to verify both an ID and a credit card.  Many major retailers have had tremendous success using UV technology – for example, one major appliance retailer made a small investment of two UV detectors per outlet store; in the first four months over $35,000 in fraudulent credit card purchases were stopped.  Simple steps utilizing UV technology can save your business thousands in fraudulent transactions, help protect your customers, and also make the point to potential criminals that your stores are no longer an easy target.

For more information and examples of how a UV detector can protect your business from skimmed credit cards (as well as counterfeit money, traveler checks, and fake IDs) you can visit the Fraud Fighter web site and view check the interactive demo link.

www.fraudfighter.com/flash/

” According to the survey, return fraud continues to plague the industry and will cost retailers an estimated $3.54 billion this holiday season, down slightly from $3.6 billion last year. (Retailers will lose $11.8 billion to return fraud in 2008.) However, retailers seem to be tackling the problem, as return fraud is expected to decrease to 7.5 percent of holiday returns from 8.9 percent last year.

Though retailers seem to be confronting return fraud, incidents continue to permeate through most retail stores. According to the survey, most retailers (88.9%) have had stolen merchandise returned to stores within the past year. Retailers also report being victimized by returns of merchandise originally purchased with fraudulent or stolen tender (74.1%) and returns using counterfeit receipts (45.7%).” (Source – NRF “Third Annual Return Fraud Survey”)

Truly alarming is the revelation that 89% of retail stores surveyed have experienced return receipt fraud.  And -  total losses from return fraud in 2008 exceeded $11 Billion!

These staggering numbers have led Loss Prevention professionals to extreme measures in their efforts to combat the fraud. Some companies have their LP agents “dumpster diving” to pull receipts out of the trash cans in the store parking lot.  Others have tried bar-coding of receipts to ensure that the same receipt is not used multiple times to return the same product (only to discover that this occasionally led to the real customer being unable to return the product).

Another interesting fact from the survey was the high incidence of return fraud involving goods that were originally purchased using counterfeit tender (e.g. – fake currency, skimmed credit cards, forged gift-checks).  Three quarters of retail store respondents reported this experience.  This highlights a common theme in counterfeit crime: the need to “launder” forged instruments.  By purchasing goods with counterfeit tender, the perpetrator is able to return the goods purchased, and in the process, realize a 100% conversion of their counterfeit currency.  Criminals are, in effect, using retailers as a money-laundering service.

Finally, a third interesting fact from the survey was that nearly 50% of retailers had experienced return fraud where the perpetrator used a forged or counterfeit receipt.  Retailers can address this issue easily by utilizing register receipt paper containing verifiable security features.  This will be the topic of an upcoming article on this blog, so please stay tuned and visit often!

Increased Counterfeit Activity

The most recent data available, relating to fiscal year 2006, shows that about $62 million in fake currency was circulated in the United States. That represents a more than 10% increase from the prior year and a 69% rise from just three years earlier, according to the latest data from the Secret Service.

The crooks are bold. One person who was arrested charged people, including an undercover agent, for a counterfeiting how-to class. One man was arrested after dancers in a strip club realized he was passing out fake bills and called police while the bouncer held the man. A 62-year-old woman known as Grandma was caught trying to sell fake money at less than face value.

Technology is making it easier for the people trying to do this on their own, say financial crimes investigators from the Los Angeles Police Department.

Secret Service spokesman Eric Zahren says the ease of using home computers to make counterfeit money has added challenges to catching counterfeiters.  About 54% of the counterfeit currency collected in fiscal 2006 was made using digital technology vs. so-called offset printing, which involves more skill, time and expense. In 1996, only 1% of counterfeits were digitally produced, according to the Secret Service.

The government has been updating U.S. bills to try to thwart counterfeiters. In 2003, the $20 bill, the most frequently counterfeited currency in the USA, was the first to feature a color other than green. Other features such as a watermark and color-shifting ink also were added.   Since then, new $10 bills and $50 bills have entered circulation, and earlier this year, a new $5 bill was introduced.

It was quite a revelation to us here at UVeritech when we learned of the prevalence of the use of fake ID’s for the purchase of cough syrup. Of course, the news has been full of stories for several years about how cough syrup is one of the primary sources of a key-ingredient in the production of methamphetamine, a highly-addictive drug and a U.S. FDA controlled substance.

But even we “experts” here at UVeritech can always learn about a new and valuable use of our own Fraud-Fighter^TM equipment.

Due to widespread issues of methamphetamine use and production across the United States, federal legislation – The Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act – (CMEA) was passed in 2005 to control the sale of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine. The Federal statute includes the requirement that merchants who sell these products must provide “verification of proof of identity of all purchasers.”

Fast-forward to 2008. One of our customers (name withheld by request for purposes of corporate anonymity) purchased several dozen of our model UV-16 to conduct an initial in-store-trial of the equipment to aid cashiers with the verification of currency, credit cards and ID’s for alcohol and tobacco sales. One of the store managers thought to begin checking ID’s as part of their compliance with the CMEA. Previously, his store had followed store policy by recording ID information, such as driver license number, name, address, etc. Once they started using the UV-16 to verify ID’s, they discovered that as many as 7 false ID’s per day were being presented for the purchase of cough syrup!

This large, national chain-store is now fast-tracking the purchase and installation of our equipment across its very large retail footprint.

If you would like to conduct an in-store-trial of our product in your locations, please contact us at 800-883-8822 and we will be happy to talk over the details with you.

U.S. Passport under UV

The threat of digital counterfeiting and forgery of identity documents is growing at an increasing rate. In the past, only skilled professionals with very sophisticated equipment created counterfeit or altered passports, driver licenses, national ID cards, and financial instruments. Today, however, the counterfeiting threat for a wide array of documents has moved from the professional to the casual counterfeiter. Because sophisticated counterfeiting tools, such as scanners, card printers, and image editing software are readily available at ever decreasing prices, identity document attacks by both criminal and casual counterfeiters are a growing threat.

For government-issued citizen identity documents, this counterfeiting and forgery risk threatens personal, corporate, and national security. This risk also limits the ability of law enforcement personnel and merchants to confirm identity. Reliably confirming the authenticity of an identity document minimizes the potential for incredibly large financial losses to individuals and businesses.

SIMPLE-TO-VERIFY FEATURES

Many identification documents are very simple to verify using ultra-violet equipment. Ultra-Violet scanners can be used to validate a range of U.S. National, as well as international, identification documents, such as:

• US Passport
• State Driver Licenses and State ID Cards (43 states)
• Social Security card
• Mexican Matricula Consular
• Foreign Passports from most countries
• Canadian Driver Licenses
• Credit Cards (w/ Visa, MasterCard, AMEX or Discover logos)

WHY VERIFYING IDENTITY IS IMPORTANT

The greatest indicator of the evolution of identity theft involves the nature of the data piracy that has grown pandemic in recent years. With the adaptation by criminal organizations of “Web 2.0″ networking tools (such as MySpace & Wikis), a sophisticated black market has sprung up online to buy and sell personal data. Some of this comes from public records; for example, obtaining a driver’s license or purchasing real estate automatically creates a public record. Add these readily available identifiers to other electronic bits and pieces, such as account numbers and Social Security numbers acquired through more nefarious means, and identity thieves have the makings of a new identity they can use as they wish.

When there is a mass identity theft in which individuals’ total identities are stolen, such as the recent stories involving Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Time Warner and ChoicePoint database breaches, sensitive identifiers are obtained by the thieves, which can be used for a variety of reasons such as financial identity theft, criminal identity theft or terrorism. This information can be used across the world, and if they are used, the victim will face hundreds of hours of work to resolve the issue. Once they have your personal information, identity thieves use it in a variety of ways.

Credit card fraud:

• They may open new credit card accounts in your name. When they use the cards and don’t pay the bills, the delinquent accounts appear on your credit report.
• They may change the billing address on your credit card so that you no longer receive bills, and then run up charges on your account. Because your bills are now sent to a different address, it may be some time before you realize there’s a problem.

Phone or utilities fraud:

• They may open a new phone or wireless account in your name, or run up charges on your existing account.

• They may use your name to get utility services like electricity, heating, or cable TV.

Bank/finance fraud:

• They may create counterfeit checks using your name or account number.
• They may open a bank account in your name and write bad checks.
• They may clone your ATM or debit card and make electronic withdrawals your name, draining your accounts. They may take out a loan in your name.

Government documents fraud:

• They may get a driver’s license or official ID card issued in your name but with their picture.
• They may use your name and Social Security number to get government benefits.
• They may file a fraudulent tax return using your information.

Other fraud:

• They may get a job using your Social Security number.
• They may rent a house or get medical services using your name.
• They may give your personal information to police during an arrest. If they don’t show up for their court date, a warrant for arrest is issued in your name.