System Can Detect Fraudulent Passports

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) _ Australia, one of the United States' strongest allies, has added a new weapon to its arsenal _ a toaster-sized document reader that tells in seconds whether a passport is a fraud

Monday, April 12th 2004, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) _ Australia, one of the United States' strongest allies, has added a new weapon to its arsenal _ a toaster-sized document reader that tells in seconds whether a passport is a fraud and identifies travelers who might be included on terrorist watch lists.

``What we're trying to do is strengthen border security by making sure that the people who are coming into this country are who they say they are,'' said Tim Chapman, a manager with Australia's Customs Service.

In a multimillion-dollar contract, Australia has installed 400 iA-thenticate units from Imaging Automation Inc. of Bedford, N.H., at its international airports in hopes of authenticating the documents of every person entering.

The system ranges from $5,000 to $15,000 per unit. It uses multiple light sources to examine hundreds of security features on travel documents. Many of the features, including the composition of ink, are invisible to the naked eye.

Australia joins Canada, Hungary, Sweden, Finland, Nigeria among the countries using or testing the iA-thenticate system. The Dallas-Fort Worth and Boston airports and a company that contracts with nuclear plants use the system to check credentials of prospective employees.

Chapman said the system was deployed in Australia in mid-February and already has detected false documents. Without giving details, he said the people might not have been detected beforehand.

Imaging Automation is trying to sell its system to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which is facing delays in its plans to incorporate passport-validating fingerprint and facial biometrics at border crossings.