Forensic Test Kits

The words “forensic test kits” create visions of kits that can be used to analyze evidence from a crime scene, especially a murder scene. Yet forensic test kits also have the ability to point a finger at the perpetrators of less sensational crimes. They allow authorities to detect fraudulent documents. As the reported cases of identity theft increases, the usefulness of such kits has also taken an upward turn. In fact one kit maker in Europe now manufactures three different types of these special kits. Two employ some type of light, and one employs a magnifying lens.

Forensic test kits alert authorities to “white collar crime.” The authorities can use the smallest traces of evidence to produce proof that a fraudulent act has been committed. Some forensic test kits provide a quick verification of printed documents. A detector from the kit is hidden under a mouse, and from that hiding place it sends messages to one of the following devices: a CRT monitor, a PC or an LCD display. The detection relies on the emission of infra-red and ultra-violet light, combined with a proper magnification of the examined material.

Other forensic test kits act like a microscope-sized camera. One such kit is called a PMP Scope. That Scope is used for the inspection of certain features that remain undetectable to the human eye. For example, the Scope permits an inspector to conduct a careful analysis of certain human features– skin pores, human hair, and skin on the scalp. Businesses can use such a scope to monitor jewelry and cash. Banks can use such a scope to verify the authenticity of signatures.

 Banks can obtain further verification from a device called a Stoker. The Stoker can signal the detection of “anti-Stokes ink.” That “anti-Stokes ink contains special pigments. The pigments absorb energy from the laser light emitted by the Stoker. Absorption of the energy from the laser light changes the electrons in the pigment. That change allows the pigment to glow under fluorescent light.

The Stoker, like the forensic test kits described in the opening paragraph, provide a mechanism for the detection of fraud. The stoker is used to examine ID’s, passports and checks. Evidence that each of those documents has anti-Stokes ink is proof of their authenticity. A document that failed to show the presence of anti-Stokes ink would be subject to delayed verification. Authorities would have doubts about the document’s freedom from counterfeit characters and/or images.

The above kits are examples of the forensic test kits developed at a facility in Switzerland. The owner of that facility noticed more than nine years ago that the world needed a better way to test the authenticity of legal documents. That owner must have heard the talk about the possible use of ink with a sampling of one person’s DNA. Some had suggested that the signer of a legal document should have a pen with such ink. Then such ink could be used to prove the genuine nature of a signature. The Swiss innovator took that suggestion and focused on the chemistry of the ink. That focus then led to the development of the new forensic test kits, kits that could detect anti-Stokes ink.

Filed under: Test Kits