Pittsburgh’s hard, cold winters seem to be endless. Around this time of year, everyone here at InventHelp is craving some sunlight. And even though I know it’s bad for me, once in a while I like to indulge in a nice dose of UV rays at the local tanning salon.

At the desk, the salon clerk asked me to place my index finger on a small scanner. Faster than you can say “melanoma,” this little fingerprint scanner read my print and associated it with my customer record. The clerk explained that customer theft caused them to implement the new security precautions. Many customers would buy a tanning package, he said, then let their friends go into the salon and use the package.

The Helios Biometric Fingerprint Scanner is one brand of tool that salons employ to maintain security. The reader confirms the identity of the patron before it lets them tan, preventing fraud.

InventHelp’s Invention Girl doesn’t want to sound paranoid, but the idea of my fingerprint floating around in a database somewhere gives me the heebie-jeebies. After some research, I discovered that biometric systems use the highest level of database encryption. This prevents unauthorized users from accessing the database and stealing critical information.

Besides confirming customer identity, the biometric tool can also be used to verify employees’ time clock accuracy as well as confirm their identities before allowing them access to the database.

Special thanks to the patient tanning clerk who took the time to explain how these biometrics tools work to this visibly excited InventHelp employee!

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1. InventHelp Scam-Fighting Inventors Tackle Fraud
2. Gadget Lets You Scan Documents from Anywhere
3. KFC’s Top Secret Recipe Invention Transferred Under High Security