WIREDGOV

A cunning device has been invented to combat online identity fraud.

AlphaFox Systems has invented a product that can outwit online fraudsters. It is an unbreakable identification tag that secures internet transactions.

Called Crystal Key it consists of a card containing a unique pattern of crystals that can be held up to a smartphone camera and used to identify its owner.

The innovation could satisfy the urgent need to cut the fraudulent use of stolen or fictitious identity details. This crime accounted for 50% of all UK fraud in 2012, according to the CIFAS fraud prevention service.

However, finance for the idea was hard to find and the innovation may never have seen the light of day without the intervention of the Technology Strategy Board. ‘It is a very difficult time commercially and even companies with multi-million pound research budgets are cutting back on projects,' said Dr Keith Barfoot, Technical Director of AlphaFox Systems.

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