[MSN] Stolen Property On-Line Registry Database Created By Swift-Find

[msn-list at te.verweg.com]

Stolen Property On-Line Registry Database Created By Swift-Find 

August 7, 2005

By Joel Leyden
Israel News Agency 

Tel Aviv----August 7..... Swift-Find, the world's only comprehensive on-line
registry of stolen valuables, recently announced the launching of a powerful
new on-line database search tool for quickly identifying and locating lost
or stolen property. 

Swift-Find (http://www.swift-find.com/), the leading global, on-line,
real-time registry of valuables and property, designed for use by consumers,
auction houses, museums, dealers, police forces, finance and insurance
companies, is boosted by the inclusion of 'Image Seeker' software from LTU
Technologies, a software widely used for specialized investigations by
government and law enforcement agencies around the world including the FBI
(Federal Bureau of Investigation) and ICE (US Immigration & Customs
Enforcement. 

The image-matching feature of Swift-Find "Search It" product means that
auction houses, insurance, retailers, pawn brokers, police, security and
other customers and dealers in the US, South America, Europe, the
Middle-East and Asia can check the legitimacy of ownership of second-hand
valuables and property before a sale - and so avoid unwittingly buying or
selling stolen property. 

"The combination of Swift-Find's professional categorization of valuable
items with LTU's technology makes "Search It" an even more effective tool to
identify items for auction houses, insurance companies, retailers, pawn
brokers, police and security organizations that are either lost or stolen,"
said Ben Arbel, CEO of Swift-Find. 

"Search It is just one of Swift-Find's registry databases services developed
to protect buyers from purchasing stolen property and help crime victims get
their stolen property back," added Arbel. 

Swift-Find's global, detailed registry database of valuables and property
provides a number of services including the registration of valuables on its
global database, reporting valuables when lost or stolen, searching
secondhand items before purchase to make sure they are not lost and stolen,
and recovering stolen property. 

LTU Technologies is the world leader in image search and recognition
solutions. LTU's product suite includes Image-Seeker, a highly accurate
automatic image analysis software that allows comparison, search and
retrieval of photographic images. The software is established as a standard
investigation tool for law enforcement agencies (stolen art, child
exploitation, counterfeiting), in order to help them to pursue visual
evidence. 

Swift-Find "Search It" service allows users to check the validity of an item
by simply defining key characteristics. By incorporating the image-based
technology, the user enhances the search by simply uploading a picture.
Users can conduct a search on the basis of the image only - particularly
useful when certain details of an item are not known. 

"We are extremely pleased to be a technology provider to Swift-Find. Our
partnership will help deter the trade of stolen property" commented Chahab
Nastar, CEO of LTU Technologies. 

Among Swift-Finds clients are Galerie Koller, Watch Searcher, Seymour's,
Greenslade Hunt Fine Art, R B Taylor & Sons, Gorringes Fine Art, and GOL -
Geraldonline. Swift-Find is presently cooperating with INTERPOL and police
and security intelligence organizations in England, France, Spain, Turkey,
Belgium, Hungary, Germany, Japan, China, the US, Canada, Mexico, Korea,
Sweden, Ireland, Norway, Saudi Arabia and several other counties in Europe,
North America, Africa, the Mid-East and Asia.

The former head of Scotland Yard's Art and Antique Squad Richard Ellis
recently joined Swift-Find, whose services include a global, on-line
searchable database of lost and stolen items. Mr. Ellis has had an extensive
experience with the Metropolitan Police Force for over 30 years, where he
was a member of the International and Organised Crime branch at New Scotland
Yard. 

Ellis is a director of Art Resolve and The Art Management Group and is an
Executive member of the Council for the Prevention of Art Theft. He joins
Swift-Find with responsibility for developing links with major European law
enforcement agencies. In 1989 he created the Art and Antiques Squad, a
position which he led until his appointment in 1999 as General Manager of
Christie's Fine Art Security Services and then Managing Director of "Trace",
running a database for stolen art and antiques together with Trace Magazine.


An independent art risk consultant since 2002, he lectures extensively on
cultural property crime and is a member of UNESCO's panel of experts on the
protection of cultural property. "Swift-Find is delighted to have someone
with Richard's enthusiasm, dedication and understanding join us. We believe
that someone of his calibre will be a perfect addition to our team", said
Ben Arbel, Swift-Find CEO. 

"Swift-Find is rapidly establishing itself as the market leader in on-line
security and valuables recognition. 
I am very excited at becoming involved in such a ground-breaking project",
commented Richard Ellis. The Swift-Find registry database service verifies
the provenance of valuables for art and antique dealers, insurance
companies, museums and private individuals, and enables them to quickly
check on-line and in real-time, before purchase or acquisition, if items
have been reported lost or stolen. Likewise, law enforcement and security
organizations may check recovered items against the comprehensive database
of lost and stolen valuables to identify the original owner and return the
item. 

Swift-Find's comprehensive database is a result of the wide range of
partnerships the company has established to date. Police forces throughout
the US, Europe, Interpol, Europol, organizational, consumers, retailers and
individual victims of theft, and focused databases of stolen valuables (such
as WatchSearcher) all contribute to the global database of lost and stolen
valuables. 

Retailers, luxury brands, dealers, art and artifact museums and consumers
register new and valued items on Swift-Find's global registry of valuables,
in case of loss or theft. Should theft or loss of the items occur, the owner
can report the item stolen on the Swift-Find stolen property and valuables
database registry system in seconds, and provide the detailed information to
the police and their insurance company, thus providing the best chance of
recovery or replacement. 

Swift-Find's on-line, exclusive security and theft valuables control
database and registry concept is so powerful that Internet chat rooms are
starting to buzz with excitement. One chat room recently posted the message:
"attention all museums obtain a free Swift-Find subscription. Register all
valuables now with Swift-Find for free. Swift-Find is the non governmental
organization(NGO) responsible for creating an international database of
valuable goods, properly described and photographed for crime prevention
purposes."

The Internet security alert continues: "Swift-Find's core objective is that
any item or artifact registered with Swift-Find, once reported stolen,
cannot be resold through any legitimate auction house, pawnbroker or
commercial dealer. If a Swift-Find registered item is stolen and the thief
should try to sell it on, the exchange will be canceled and the police will
be notified the moment it is cross-referenced through the database of
stolen, lost or unaccounted-for goods. This is a free service and the more
museums participate, the more effective the scheme will be as a deterrent
against theft. The idea is simple; with no-one to sell to, there is little
incentive to steal."

Until now, it has been nearly impossible for both professionals and laymen
to differentiate between stolen and legitimate used valuables. Swift-Find
searches for valuables using three key technologies: a standardized set of
parameters, visual matching and unique markings. 
Swift-Find's on-line, real-time registry database also allows users to
compare prices on their valuables.

Among those valuables and property registered in the Swift-Find on-line,
real-time database which is updated every hour are stolen fine art, watches,
cars, computers, laptops, hard drives, diamond rings, pearls, software,
hardware, furs, furniture, violins, pianos, guitars, books, CD's, pendants,
sculpture, letters, earrings, bracelets, maps, coins, pictures, records,
tapes, cufflinks, clothes, firearms, radios, TV, ornaments, certificates,
stamps, lanterns, diaries, autographs, telephones, wine bottles, pens,
bikes, vehicles, animals, silverware, gold gifts, cameras, posters, signs,
engravings, passports, birth certificates, clocks, antiques, boats,
airplanes, pins, portraits, bags, luggage, paintings, school and university
papers, manuscripts, trophies, licenses, photos, and thousands of private
and business documents.

Israel News Agency