Patent ID: 7239727

Claim:
A method for verifying a person's identity comprising the steps of: (a) inputting into a computer a reference signature of the person; (b) identifying at least one first signature portion of the reference signature input at Step (a), the first signature portion being less than the whole reference signature and including a first feature; (c) identifying at least one indicium for each first signature portion identified at Step (b), whereby each indicium points to the position of its respective first signature portion in the reference signature; (d) recording each first signature portion identified in Step (b) and its respective indicium identified at Step (c) on a portable machine readable substrate, whereby the first signature portions and their respective indicia are sufficient to determine whether an unknown signature matches the reference signature of Step (a) within predetermined threshold criteria without the entire reference signature being recorded on the substrate; (e) inputting into a computer the first signature portions and their respective indicia recorded on the machine-readable substrate of Step (d); (f) inputting into a computer an unknown signature; (g) using each indicium input at Step (e) to point to a respective second signature portion of the unknown signature input at Step (f); and, (h) for each second signature portion pointed to in Step (g) determining whether a second feature exists within the second signature portion wherein the second feature matches the first feature of Step (b) within the predetermined threshold criteria of Step (d).