Diesel Testing Terminology
INDUSTRY TERMS
Authentication
The process of establishing or proving a product authentic.
Adulteration
To make an authentic product impure by mixing in a foreign or inferior product. e.g. the addition of cheap solvents to gasoline.
Brand Abuse / Piracy
Term used to describe various fraudulent activities including counterfeiting, diversion and adulteration.
Brand Compromise
The term used to describe the effect on a brands reputation when a consumer purchases a counterfeit or adulterated product believing it to be genuine.
CATS
Comprehensive Authentication Traceability System that marries authentication and traceability by delivering the authentication technology through the product serial number. CATS provides beginning-to-end product oversight by following the product life cycle from the raw materials used in the manufacturing stage to finished product at the point of sale.
Counterfeiting
The act of passing off fake products as authentic by the intentional copying of trademarks, packaging and contents.
Covert
Invisible, secret, disguised.
Diversion
The unauthorized movement of goods from their intended supply chain, to an un-approved distribution point. e.g. tax-free products intended for export being unofficially re-imported for domestic sale while evading local duties and taxes or the unauthorized shipment of goods from low-tax markets to higher tax-markets through unofficial channels.
Duplication
Copying products, labels, packaging, and instructional usage information.
Excise Tax
Taxes levied by governments on certain items (i.e., diesel fuel, cigarettes, spirits) to generate revenue.
Excise Tax Recovery Program
A program meant to help governments collect fiscal tax monies lost to criminal activities including counterfeiting, smuggling, diversion, etc.
Fiscal Transparency
The practice of being open to the public about the structure and functions of government and intentions on fiscal policy.
Fitness
The physical quality of a banknote in circulation. Fitness can be impacted by soiling, creasing and graffiti.
Grey Market / Diversion
Also known as diversion. See above.
Overt
Visible; not secret.
Pedigree
A document containing all of the known information about a product and its chronological history through the distribution channel.
Product Compromise
Also known as brand compromise. See above.
Serialization
The practice of assigning every individual product with a code for the purposes of identification and to provide a means of traceability.
Social Capitalism
The practice of contributing to the betterment of society through business practices.
Substitution
The swapping of one product for another – usually of inferior quality. The term also relates to the placement of an inferior product in an authentic or reused package. Example: the refilling of branded liquor bottles with inferior spirits.
Tampering
Altering packaging and labels and using unauthorized goods in place of the real product, e.g. amending the sell by, or product expiry date, on expired products to deceive the consumer that the product is fit for use.
Traceability
The ability to verify the history, location, or application of an item by means of documented recorded identification.
Tracking
Following an item through the supply chain and distribution channels from point of manufacture to the point of dispense to consumers.
Tracing
Following an item history to its source of manufacturing and possibly materials of construction.
TECHNOLOGY TERMS
Banknote Processing
The sorting and processing of banknotes through the use of sensors. Processing helps Central Banks determine if a banknote meets authenticity and fitness standards or if it should be removed from circulation and destroyed.
Bar codes
A series of vertical bars of varying widths, in which each of the digits zero through nine are represented by a different pattern of bars that can be read by a laser scanner. The bars are commonly found on consumer products and are used especially for inventory control. Invisible barcodes would enable authentication and inventory control without the threat of the barcode being copied.
2D Bar code
A matrix code, also known as a 2D barcode, is a two-dimensional means of representing information. It is similar to a linear (1-dimensional) barcode, but can represent much more data per unit area.
Biometrics
Technology that identifies individuals using biological traits such as retinal or iris scanning, fingerprints, or face recognition. Appropriate for authenticating the person, but does not confirm that the card was made at an authorized facility and is legitimate. Example: a counterfeiter could make a passport with a criminal’s biometric information on it.
Digital Watermarking
The inclusion of covert digital design features in printed media Used to authenticate online, media content.
Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
An extremely sensitive and analytical technique capable of absolute identification and quantification of organic molecules.
High Speed Sensors
Banknote processing sensors that can detect paramaters such as note fitness, authenticity and denomination. These sensors work with existing hardware and can process a vast amount of data per second.
Hologram
Three-dimensional photographic image made with laser technology. Often used by manufacturers to verify packaging authenticity, but because you can see them, they can be easily copied by counterfeiters.
Mass Differentiated Marker
Mass enhanced twin of an existing molecule that makes it slightly heavier and therefore it can be detected. Analogous to a few seconds in a span of 32 years, it’s detection is a highly specialized process.
Molecular Recognition Marker
An Authentix patented technology in which a covert marker is detected by a unique recognition molecule. As the marker and recognition molecule are specific to each other, infinitesimal concentrations can be detected that would otherwise be undetectable through conventional chemical analysis
Near-Infrared Region
Near-infrared light is the region of the electromagnetic spectrum with wavelengths between 700 and 1,100 nm. In comparison, the ultraviolet region is at 400 nm and the visible region is the middle of the spectrum.
Quantum Photonic Marker
An Authentix patented marker system that allows for instantaneous machine-readable authentication in the field.
Radio Frequency Identification Devices (RFIDs)
Microchips that use radio waves to transmit information from a tagged object to a special reader. Requiring non-line of sight-reading, they are particularly useful for the automatic monitoring of stock movement, when incorporated into product packaging. To date, this technology has been too expensive to integrate into most consumer goods packaging. It’s inability to authenticate packaging contents limits their use as authentication features.