The National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre (Nectec) has launched a device that tests have shown to be 100percent effective in detecting fake credit cards.
A private company has bought production rights for the device and will sell them for Bt8,000 apiece.
Nectec Photonics Technology Laboratory director Sarun Sumriddetchkajorn said tests he conducted jointly with researcher Yutthana Intarawannee showed the device would not read the cardholder's data stored in a magnetic strip or a chip, hence it would not violate individual rights to privacy.
Citing a test at the recent Commart Fair in which Krung Thai Bank and Siam Commercial Bank cards were run through the device, Sarun said it took only half a second to work and could be applied for both Visa and MasterCard.
The device reads a questionable card's surface with a laser refracted at an angle predetermined for an authentic credit card, he explained. If the card is authentic, a screen on the device shows a hologram mark, a bird in case of Visa and a globe in case of MasterCard, while a fake one will show thick and thin lines because the laser's angle of incidence is not correct, he said.
New Wave Ideas Company has bought production rights for the latest version of the device and will soon market them for Bt8,000 each, Saran said.
He said the device was suitable for banks, companies and shops that take credit cards. It could also be used by national security agencies such as the police Economic and Cyber Crime Division or the Department of Special Investigation, because some transnational gangs used fake credit cards in Thailand causing hundreds of millions of baht in losses.
There are other ways for people to check the authenticity of a credit card visually. The five main points are the cardholder name and 16digit card number; the symbol indicating if it is Visa or MasterCard; the magnetic strip or chip and the threedigit code on the back; the hologram mark; and the glowinthedark pattern on the card in black light.