'ID Risk Check' Would Require ID Every Time You Swipe A Credit Card

It's not common practice yet, but if Steve Williams has his way, someday you'll be asked to swipe your driver's license through a device he calls a "toaster" every time you buy something.

Williams is the CEO of Intellicheck-Mobilisa, a company based in Port Townsend that in 2009 created a wireless device to scan IDs in airports to instantly determine whether a traveller is on an FBI watch or no-fly list.

The company's latest invention is "ID Risk Check," an enhanced ID swipe that instantly compares your driver's license with your payment card to make sure it's really you using it.

"This is secure, it’s encrypted, it never comes into human contact," Williams says. "What's happening in software is that it's going across several databases to validate your identity -- make sure who you are, make sure your address is correct -- to make sure that someone isn't using your name in multiple locations throughout the country to do the exact same transaction. In other words, to keep the bad guys from using your information."

Williams says the system was designed for Radio Shack, and is now being installed in those stores. Intellicheck-Mobilisa is currently in talks with other major retailers too.

If the system takes off, Williams says it could mean more jobs for workers at the Port Townsend headquarters.

"This is home for us," he says. "This is headquarters. We’re publicly traded and very glad to be in Port Townsend."

Asked if people even know the company's there in Port Townsend, Williams says, "They're learning."

Williams admits not many people currently feel comfortable handing over personal information. But he believes once consumers know more about ID Risk Check, they’ll appreciate it. He says not only will the system protect consumers, the information cannot be used for marketing.

Another safeguard: When a retailer's payment system has been hacked, ID Risk Check will instantly red-flag the accounts of everyone who's banking information has been stolen.

For more information, check out the PDF embedded below:

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