Product: Fake-Finder Counterfeit Detection Devices Company: Fake-Finder Products

Considering the fierce competition these days between MLSs trying to get their feet off the street and in the door, having an unusual "door opener" to show merchants might lead to increased success.

And considering the uphill battle against fraud merchants face everyday, if that door opener could help them identify counterfeited cash, checks or payment cards and prevent them from losing money, surely that would help seal a few deals.

Fake-Finder Products is a company that offers just such a solution. Its line of counterfeit detection and loss prevention devices are used by chain and independent retailers, banks, fast food restaurants and law enforcement agencies across the country.

Bob Myatt, Fake-Finder Products' Master Distributor, said the readers scan money, including cash, checks, cashiers checks and money orders, credit and debit cards-and many forms of identification such as drivers' licenses, Social Security cards and Alien Registration Receipt Cards (Green Cards).

All money, whether cash or money orders, contains special features to help foil counterfeiting. Myatt said these features go beyond the kind of paper used, watermarks in the paper or special inks. These factors can be copied somewhat easily, as crooks become skilled at using computers and printers.

Chemicals that turn color when exposed to high-powered UV light and specially placed nylon threads in paper currency cannot be replicated. Under these types of lights, any money that has been reproduced on a copy machine will turn blue, reflecting that spectrum.

Fake-Finder Products has two patents pending and its products are designed for use in brightly lit retail environments. The devices use one or two eight-watt commercial grade fluorescent bulbs, depending on the model, to generate the required UV light. They also include color-coded lines that coincide with the placement of nylon threads in cash.

It seems that everyone is catching on to UV security. Myatt said that all credit cards-Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover-have UV features in them that cannot be added to a counterfeit card produced from a stolen account number.

All new government documentation and even Kinko's cash cards now include UV security features. Twenty-seven states are putting them in their drivers' licenses; 60% of currently issued California licenses have them, he said.

Banks, including 23,000 Bank of America branches and 9,000 Wells Fargo locations use the products. Sears Roebuck & Co. uses them; so do many Burger King, Carl's Jr. and KFC outlets.

Law enforcement agencies, including the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and both the Sacramento sheriff and police departments use one of the smaller models to locate fake IDs because it fits in their pockets, Myatt said.

The devices come with lifetime warranties, are constructed of steel for long wear and are very simple to install and use-just plug in, slide the bill, check or card into the reader and look for security features. There is no programming required to read foreign currency.

The Fake-Finder Products' compact size and low costs, which are reduced even further when the units are purchased in volume, make them an essential tool at the point of sale. The bulbs are specified to last 1,000 - 1,500 hours, but Myatt said they last much longer, even when running 16 hours a day, and cost $8 to replace.

Fake-Finder Products 5900 Sperry Drive Citrus Heights, Calif. 95621 877-276-6584 www.fake-finder.com