Examination of Genuine and Fake Images by Histogram and Edge Detection Method- A Case Report

This paper deals with the examination of genuine and disputed beedi (cheap cigarette wrapped in leaves) packages to establish genuineness. In one case, a dishonest trader made fake beedi , imitating the genuine product for huge sales in the market. He also made the product by copying the photograph, name of brand, logo, and hologram on the packages externally to be looking alike genuine brand for a good market. Subsequently the beedi was sold and original manufacturer lodged many complaints to the police. During investigation the police seized the fake package from the retailer along with a genuine one from the registered manufacturer for forensic examination and comparison. The image, hologram, logo and brand printed on both genuine and fake packages were viewed under Video Spectral Comparator and much difference in color, sharpness, size of the printed alphabet could be observed. Essentially, the traditional forensic methods were not sufficient to draw conclusion, hence the histogram and edge detection techniques in this study were applied to distinguish between the fake and genuine packages.