For all the charms of living and working in a college town, it’s not without its challenges. For example, if you own or work in an establishment that serves or sells alcohol, you live with a slight paranoia that any ID you check from somebody who appears under 25 could be invalid no matter how closely you scrutinize it. Several local merchants, including Liquors 44 of Hadley and Atkins Farms of Amherst, recently took steps to ease their doubts by installing Advanced ID Detection scanning devices in their stores.
Based in Medway, Massachusetts, Advanced ID Detection created the AIDD-150™ Reader to help protect businesses like restaurants, convenience stores, liquor stores and bars that need to proof customers before serving. The AIDD-150 Reader sits on a counter top very much like a debit/credit card POS scanner. Upon insertion of the ID, the reader scans both sides of licenses, IDs, military cards, passport cards, and other forms of identification, enabling it to read bar codes, magnetic stripes and text. The reader alerts the merchant to any discrepancies in the ID with a barrage of checks on the ID’s content and security features..
“The five colleges in the area--UMass, Amherst, Mount Holyoke, Smith and Hampshire—literally draw students from all over. That means we not only see IDs from other states but from other countries,” said Jon McMahon, customer service manager at Atkins Farm, located at 1150 West Street in Amherst. “The AIDD-150 Reader relieves the pressure of wondering if out-of-state IDs are valid.”
The reader works with Advanced ID Detection software, Visual-AIDD™, which helps the cashier easily decipher four critical questions:
- Is the ID real or fake?
- Is the ID still valid or is it expired?
- Is the person old enough for the given purchase?
- Does the person presenting the ID match the photo on the ID?
A negative response to any of these questions and the cashier or checker can refuse service.
“It’s a lot to ask of anybody working the register to be able to detect some of these very cleverly done fake IDs, especially the new wave of fake IDs from China (e.g. ID Chief) that have found their way into the US. Most existing scanners cannot detect these latest high tech IDs,” said Dr. Ted Kuklinski, president of Advanced ID Detection. “With our system, merchants, restaurant and bar owners can have the peace of mind that underage patrons aren’t being served on their watch. It’s also why many law enforcement officials have employed our systems as well.”
The Amherst Police Department recently purchased Advanced ID Detections’ mobile hard shell briefcase system to use for off-campus events. In addition, a number of other Amherst area bars, restaurants and liquor stores now use Advanced ID scanners, including: The Monkey Bar, Spirit Haus, Stackers Pub, McMurphy’s Uptown Tavern, The Spoke, The Harp Irish Pub, Four Seasons Wine & Liquor, Big Guys Liquors, and R & P Liquors and Fine Wines.
The Visual AIDD system typically runs on a stand-alone PC system (usually a laptop). Training new users is a snap and the user interface helps make any employee into an instant ID expert. The system automatically provides a decision on the ID, determining the exact type of ID, reading the information on it and checking the embedded security features, all in a few seconds. Critical regions of the ID image are easily displayed and examined in detail if necessary.
An entire system, AIDD Reader – 150 and Visual AIDD software goes for under $2500. The penalties and defense costs for serving underage patrons can be many times the cost of a system and users of the system can qualify for liquor liability discounts. Advanced ID Detection installs the systems, provides training, and offers monthly software upgrades to keep clients current with trends in fake IDs and the new license variants being issued by states on a frequent basis.
“A lot of these kids are very computer-savvy and creative when it comes to creating fake IDs and it can be very difficult to tell with the naked eye what’s legitimate and what is not,” said Liquors 44 owner Andrew Morrison, which utilizes the AIDD-150 Reader and software at all three of its locations in Hadley, Holyoke and Northampton. “I’m not sure if the new scanner and software has had an effect on my business, but it certainly has helped me sleep better at night knowing we’re doing everything in our power to stop people with fake IDs from buying at our stores.”
For complete information on Advanced ID Detection systems and software, please visit www.advancediddetection.com or call (800) 209-5040.
About Advanced ID Detection
Founded in 2009, Advanced ID Detection LLC creates ID validation hardware and software solutions for the retail and hospitality marketplace. In addition to providing state of the art ID checking systems for liquor stores, restaurants, clubs, supermarkets, convenience stores, and high-end merchants, the Medway, MA-based Advanced ID Detection also works with law enforcement agencies as part of the effort to curb underage drinking and identity theft. For more information, visit www.advancediddetection.com or call (800)209-5040.