Patent ID: 8496185

Claim:
A method for creating a secure identification card, the secure identification card including a first identifying item of information, the method comprising: applying a first covert marker to the secure identification card, the first covert marker comprising silica beads encapsulating Lanthinide-based luminescent particles having attached organic ligands, the organic ligands chosen to tune to a specific excitation frequency; associating the first covert marker with the first identifying item of information such that the secure identification card is recognized as authentic only if the association between the first covert marker and the first identifying item of information is recognized; and storing the association between the first covert marker and the first identifying item of information at a site that can be used to monitor the use of the secure identification card at a plurality of locations; applying a second covert marker to the secure identification card, the second covert marker comprising beads encapsulating different Lanthinide-based luminescent particles than the first covert marker which are also tuned to the specific excitation frequency; associating a second covert marker with the second identifying item of information such that the secure identification card is recognized as authentic only if the association between the second covert marker and the second identifying item of information is recognized; and storing the association between the second covert marker and the second identifying item of information at a site that can be used to monitor the use of the secure identification card.