Man arrested on suspicion of running ID factory in Watsonville

Other evidence seized from the rented rooms included sheets of blank Social Security cards, immigration cards, driver's licenses, W-2 forms as well as completed cards, including driver's licenses from California, Arizona, Oregon and numerous states in Mexico, California license plate stickers, Matriculas Mexican ID cards and resident alien cards, according to police.

Police said Montana's products looked authentic.

"He did a good job," Thompson said. "To a trained professional, we can see the flaws in them right away. But to the average Joe, they look pretty good." (more here)

Again we say: It is not that hard to secure a photo ID card at a reasonable cost. Security features are worth the the small cost to protect valid documents.

Recession-Proof Businesses?

Not all businesses are being affected by the current wide-reaching economic downturn in the US and worldwide. The Promotional Products industry as a whole (with a sales volume estimated at $19.4 billion in 2007) is experiencing steady growth as advertisers rush to get memorable product in the hands of their customers. See today's article in the Connecticut Post for more information.



The Promotional Products Association International's Anne Lardner says "Promotional products just work, they become part of your lifestyle. You use them, and every time you look at one, it reinforces the message."



How are you promoting your company's image to your clients and dealers? Lanyards are a great choice for a memorable impression. CredentialExpress takes new orders each day for top quality lanyards with unique features!

Bar bouncer turns away Wash. gov; she lacked ID

Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire (GREG'-wahr) is taking it as a compliment: She was turned away from a bar in the state capital because she couldn't prove she's of legal age to drink.

The 61-year-old governor and her staff had served burgers at the annual Capital Lakefair last weekend and afterward went to a downtown Olympia bar called Hannah's to celebrate.

Gregoire says the man checking identifications at the door told her she couldn't get in without ID, even when others pointed out she's Washington's governor. So she went home, but her husband, Mike, went in.

The governor tells Seattle's KING-TV she feels complimented the bouncer thought she might be under 21.

Hannah's owner, Todd Ruzicka, says his 23-year-old part-time bouncer needs more training.

We say: 1) The bar owner should thank the bouncer for protecting him from a stiff fine. 2) The govenor's husband is a putz!

Biometrics in Schools

Finally, we see some biometrics in action at a nontraditional location! The Edwardsville School District in Illinois has proposed to install visitor management and biometric Access Control in all of the district's schools! The $302,128 project was approved by the board and is set to be implemented within the next 18 months. The project will include:

• fingerprint verification for access to secured areas


• visitor management (including sex offender checks)


• photo id cards for all employees

It is fantastic to see approval and acceptance on this scale, let's just hope the PTA and the community organizations respond positively to the technology, which is sometimes construed as "invasive" and unnecessary. I feel like the best fit location for any access technology is a state-supported school system. The safety of children in schools should be paramount in our priority list.

ID Shop has implemented the Waypoint Visitor Management system successfully with the Rock Hill, SC school district and has had positive feedback from the employees, although the community seems to have a hard time grasping the benefit vs. the apparent inconvenience that is sometimes felt when a new visitor has to log in using a state-issued ID card.

Congratulations to the vendor on the Illinois deal. May we all see many more!

MTB

The case shows how competitive the $1.2 billion-a-year world of personalized credit and identification cards has become

DataCard contends, and a federal judge agrees, that Card Technology Corp. of New Jersey inflated a contract with the Nigerian government to provide bribes to the officials running the identification program in order to win the business. (more here)

We say....nothing.

More than just another automobile hang tag

Additional features for automation and security are not a problem. Special packaging is not a problem. Just let us know what you need. These special order automobile hang tags include:

• Full four color process printing on both sides
• Bar coding with no missing numbers
• Foil security stamp
• Individual poly bags
• Matching barcode label on poly bag

What can we do for you and your customers?

Drug Arrests Were Real; the Badge Was Fake

They said he wore military-style boots, pants with pockets running down the legs and carried a badge (his lawyer said it was from a former job as a security guard in St. Louis). And his off-white Ford Crown Victoria was decked out with police radios and internal flashing lights, residents said. (Read it all here!)

We say: Don't ever hesitate to verify the authenticity of any badge or ID. And if you issue ID cards, why not spend that extra few cents to make it secure?