With digital platforms and online transactions on the rise, businesses are looking for reliable sources and personnel for their operations and to improve customer experience. With digitization providing convenience to customers, it’s equally important for businesses to implement necessary security measures.
Digital business platforms are prone to risks just like traditional organizations because fraudsters target any system that involves money transfers and transactions. Now that the Covid-19 outbreak has transformed the way businesses operate, meetings and customer onboarding processes are conducted through digital platforms. This calls for the implementation of an identity verification service to prevent fraudsters from entering digital platforms.
Increasing Concerns Due to Identity Fraud
The advanced technology-driven techniques of fraudsters have made them more sophisticated in their crimes, raising concerns for businesses and financial institutions. The lack of substantial identity verification procedures makes companies vulnerable to identity fraud. For instance, when a customer is onboarded through a digital platform via a video call, they might not necessarily be who they claim to be. For this reason, criminals can pretend to be legitimate individuals and gain access to sensitive information.
Online identity verification service is based on the definitive concept of security. For ages, verifying customers’ identities has helped prevent fraud with social security numbers and government-issued identity cards. With the increasing adoption of digital platforms, businesses are still working on their security measures. A firm that ignores this security check can get involved in money laundering and other financial crimes thanks to identity theft. The manual identity verification process with a verification officer cannot be implemented in digital platforms, but there are now online identity verification solutions for this purpose.
Various unfortunate events have been reported where companies end up being bankrupt or lose customer trust due to crimes resulting from identity theft. In addition to the money lost to crimes, there are also KYC compliance fines. KYC and AML (anti-money laundering) compliance guidelines require businesses to implement sufficient measures to verify their customers and conduct background checks.
Fraud in Digital Platforms
Digital platforms of firms are experiencing identity fraud because of insufficient verification checks. Fraudsters use fake documents to present themselves as real customers, and sometimes the existing customers show negligence towards the safekeeping of their personal details.
Once criminals get their hands on sensitive customer information, the transactions they make appear legitimate and hence do not raise suspicion. Another way to gain access is with stolen identity cards or social security numbers.
Fake ID Documents
Stolen identity documents are used for criminal activities such as money laundering and also for registering fake businesses. Fake identity documents are often created using a merger of made-up information and the real information from someone else’s ID documents. These synthetic identity documents are a commonly used tactic to carry out criminal activities without getting caught.
Identity Verification Services
Online identity verification service is aimed at empowering and securing digital business platforms. Identity fraud starts with deception and manipulating the company’s system, and this is the loophole that needs to be covered. Online identity verification service helps businesses combat fraud and keep their customers’ money safe. In addition to this, these services provide the tools for successful KYC compliance.
Facial Biometric Recognition
As a first stage of the identity verification process, facial biometric recognition is highly effective. After the installation of the respective APIs, the built-in features using artificial intelligence leave no stone unturned when detecting facial characteristics. It is thereby possible to figure out the difference between a real person’s face and an image that has been modified/altered using photoshop or deep fake software.
Biometric scanners capture the unique characteristics of an individual’s face and convert them into a digital image. The identity of the individual is then verified by comparing the captured image with their photo on identity documents. Biometric facial recognition is now a popular verification measure among customers because of the ease it provides. It finds uses in smartphones as well as offices.
Document Verification
Even though biometric facial verification provides foolproof security in an online identity verification service, there are further steps incorporated in it. Document verification is the process where the customer’s identity is verified using their government records. In an online identity verification service, the end-users are asked to submit scanned images of their ID documents, driving licenses, and utility bills.
Final Thoughts
To wrap it up, identity verification service is now a primary requirement for digital business platforms where identity fraud cases are on the rise. With various sophisticated technologies based on AI, these new identity validation solutions provide accurate detection of forgery in documents and edited images.
