Importance

Loading Importance Indicators...

Abstract

A document security system is described for encoding documents such as credit cards, chargecards and the like with a unique signal representative of the user which cannot be read by the unaided eye and can only be read using a document reading means such as a card swipe machine. In a preferred arrangement the signature of a user is digitized by a digital scanner and compressed and magnetically encoded onto the magnetic stripe of the credit card. The user's portrait can also be digitized and printed on the anti-tamper panel on the card. In use, the user presents the card in a bank or store and the portrait is initially compared with user and assuming there is a likeness, the card is swiped through a card swipe reader and the encoded signature is read and displayed on a LCD-type display. The vendor or teller at the point of use can compare the signature read from the card with the user's actual signature to verify the authenticity of the user. Embodiments of the invention and a novel digital compression technique are described.

Loading the Abstract Image...

First Claim