2 minute read

Why UV Counterfeit Detection Continues to Be an Effective Solution

Sean Trundy

April 16, 2021

Countries around the world are designing ever-more intricate (and beautiful!) UV security features on currency notes and identity documents - BECAUSE THEY WORK!

Our 21 years of experience in the counterfeit document detection industry means we have a lot of conversations with business owners, government entities, law enforcement officials and – mostly – loss prevention professionals. FraudFighter has been selling ultra-violet (UV) document authentication since the company was founded, and we are constantly being asked whether UV will continue to be effective as a method to deter counterfeit fraud and identity theft.

Our answer? YES!

As evidenced by the fact that governments from around the globe continue to add intricate UV security features to their secured documents. Whether currency notes, national ID cards, passports or visa documents, we see a steadily increasing level of intricacy and design acumen being used as important documents are being secured with UV features.

UV features are here to stay.

Take a look for yourself: Here’s a sampling of the thousands of currency notes and I.D. documents from across the globe that were updated in the past couple of years. Notice how each of them still depend on UV features as a security measure.

Examples of New Currency Notes From Around the Globe

Australia

The Euro

China

The newest Chinese 10 yuan note also includes. The enlarged area shows what the boxed area looks like under UV light.

Argentina

This recently released Argentinian 10 peso note has a very bold embedded UV strip. The enlarged area shows what the boxed area looks like under UV light.

Examples of Identity Documents From Around the Globe

United States Driver Licenses

For each state, the left shows what the driver's license looks like under white light and the right shows what the driver's license looks like under UV light. Montana and North Carolina released their designs within recent years and included beautiful UV background images.

Several states released new designs for their driver's licenses (and identification cards) this year. With the upcoming implementation of Real ID, more states are sure to release new designs within the next year or two. UV features are, and will continue to be, heavily relied-upon as a security feature for state-issued driver's licenses and identification cards.

UK Passport

The United Kingdom released their new e-passport a few year ago. This new UK passport is considered by many to be the most secure passport in the world.

Canadian Passport

When Canada’s new passport was released , the entire world was in awe: every page has intricate, colorful UV designs. Try searching “Canada passport UV” or something similar and take a look at just how many articles there are praising the designs. Above is just an example of one of its amazing UV designs; you can see the rest by clicking here.