Tradition v Technology – Document Design on Trial

“Forgers and counterfeiters are as prolific as ever. Using recent case studies, this session identifies the current level of sophistication found in counterfeit and forged documentation; and asks whether the evolution of modern documents has included sufficient adaptation to counteract today’s technologically advanced criminal.”
 

Biography

Brian Somers is a specialist identity document examiner attached to the National Document Fraud Unit (NDFU) of the Border Agency Intelligence Command. He has worked in forgery and counterfeiting detection since 1988.

As well as being a trainer in detection techniques for the UK Border Agency, he has trained staff of other UK agencies such as the Police Service, Benefits Agency, Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, and Foreign Office and has trained document examination officers from the governments of Canada, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland, and Malta. He was a guest instructor at the European Seminar for Expert Document Examiners in both 1999 and 2000 (Zutphen, Netherlands), the European Seminar on Polymer Substrates (Lisbon 2006 and 2008), and the Frontex European Seminar for Document Specialists (Amsterdam 2008).

He has consulted on a number of secure document projects and specialises in digital imaging and its application in the world of forgery and counterfeiting.