Last December, 211 football fans expected to see the Tampa Bay Buccaneers play the visiting Dallas Cowboys. Most of them had a nice view of Raymond James Stadium—from the outside.
According to ABC Action News, two men drove to Tampa with a large stack of high quality, counterfeit tickets. Charging an average price of $100 per fraudulent ticket, the men managed to sell 211 of them until caught by two undercover police officers posing as fans in need of tickets. The men had possession of 14 tickets when discovered. The remaining 184 fake tickets were recovered in the Buccaneers ticket office.
Officials reported a few fans made it inside the stadium because ticket takers at a specific gate failed to scan the barcodes.
As a result of sophisticated technology and available resources, it is becoming increasingly easy for criminals to counterfeit documents that do not carry any anti-fraud protection. From event tickets to driver's licenses—nearly everything with inherent value is fair game.
Payment fraud is another area of growing concern. The 2011 AFP (Association for Finance Professionals) Payments Fraud and Control Survey showed 71 percent of the participating organizations experienced attempted or actual payments fraud in 2010. Checks by far were the primary payment form targeted by criminals. The survey found an astounding 93 percent of affected organizations reported their checks had been targeted. To provide some perspective, the percentages of organizations affected by alternate methods of payment fraud were:
• ACH debit (25 percent)
• Consumer credit/debit cards (23 percent)
• Corporate/commercial cards (15 percent)
• ACH credits (4 percent)
• Wire transfers (4 percent)
Every time a value document is counterfeited, printers and their clients lose money, and the counterfeiter stands to make lucrative profits by cheating the system. Fortunately, a multitude of security features are available to printers—often at the cost of only a fraction of a penny per document. To help customers sleep easy, printers must take full advantage of their options by developing a low-cost, high-value anti-counterfeiting strategy.
AVENUES OF ATTACK
There are countless ways defrauders can tamper with value documents. But, for the most part, their methods can be grouped into one of two categories:
• Counterfeiting. "Counterfeiting" refers to the illicit reproduction of an entire document or product with the intent to deceive. With the development of low-cost, high-definition laser color scanners and copiers, counterfeiting has become the more popular method of document fraud. As a result, document, label and packaging duplication is the fastest growing form of document and product fraud.
• Forgery. "Forgery" refers to the illicit alteration of a document or product identification with the intent to deceive. Alteration with the attempt to forge the document includes activity from swapping out a photo on an I.D. or using a chemical wash to erase ink off a check, allowing for new variable information to be added.
DECISIONS, DECISIONS
Building a successful security program for a client requires careful planning; inclusion of a particular technology should be tailored to the document security needs and not just arbitrary. To determine which security feature(s) are suitable for your client, there are many questions to consider. By asking what types of people will be authenticating and how many, you may find some more appropriate security features than others. Likewise, considering how users will be educated in authenticating and security identification is critical. By gathering this information, printers can advise clients in creating a cost-effective product with targeted security features designed for their specific needs.
After this important discussion has taken place, there are additional steps to follow.
1. Start at the design phase. When security features are implemented at the design stage, their protective elements tend to resist counterfeit or forgery more effectively than when simply added to an already existing printed item. Inks, for example, are offered in a multitude of colors and styles. Using their almost limitless variety, printers can produce a secure and aesthetically pleasing document at the design phase without dramatically increasing costs.
Security inks include, but are not limited to, the following:
• Anti-duplication inks
• IR transparent inks
• Iridescent inks
• Security numbering inks
• Thermochromic and photochromic inks
• UV inks
• Bleach-reactive inks
• Solvent-reactive inks
• Heat reactive irreversible inks
• Color-shifting inks
2. Know your suppliers. Understanding how the products and technologies of each vendor you're utilizing affect the ultimate success of the document's security is paramount, and evaluation of each technology provider provides confidence. Consult with each supplier candidly to determine their strengths and weaknesses.
3. Be able to explain the value. Upon the decision to integrate security defenses into the product mix, the printer should illustrate to the customer how the additional marginal costs of building an effective, secure printed item are off-set through the improved, secure printed by-product.
When it comes to combating counterfeiting, this information only begins to scratch the surface. If a client has been a victim of fraud, they will defer to your expertise. Knowing what solutions to provide involves familiarity with various industry technologies from a vast array of suppliers that can include software companies, paper manufacturers, ink suppliers and others.
About SICPA:
Founded in 1927, SICPA Securink Corporation is the leading global provider of security inks and integrated systems, offering a wide portfolio of security solutions for value document print applications and brand protection. With U.S. headquarters based in Springfield, VA and main corporate offices in Switzerland, SICPA is a multinational and multicultural organization, represented on five continents. SICPA provides security ink technology that protects most of the world's banknotes and security documents and combines it with state-of-the-art information technology to provide integrated systems. For more information, visit www.sicpa.com. 
- Companies:
- SICPA Securink Corporation
- People:
- John LaBrant