Online Document Verification in the Age of Acceleration

Economic crimes emanating from identity fraud have become a major issue for both law enforcement agencies and online businesses. The technology boom that caused the age of digitization has now translated into an age of acceleration. In this era, almost everything can be done online without any hassle. With the increased dependence on online business, fraudulent activities in the online age have also increased. The schemes and strategies employed by criminals require modern solutions. This need is addressed by the online identity document scanning services, that use Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) models to achieve the highest accuracy of results.

Why Identity Verification is so Important?

Online anonymity and identity impersonation are the causes of multiple problems on the internet today. From identity theft to account takeovers, the facility of the internet is being abused now more than ever. Online businesses are caught up in all of these criminal and unethical activities. They are penalized if they do not comply with Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) laws and regulations set up by the government regulatory bodies. And, they are hurt financially by forced refunds in case illegal transactions are made involving their business. These refunds are called chargebacks which the businesses have to pay to the real owner of their credit card if it is used by a criminal. So, the need for ID document verification cannot be emphasized enough.

Different Tactics of Document Fraud

Following are the multiple ways that are used by criminals to tamper with documents and steal the identities of victims. 

• Forgery – This technique is used by criminals to duplicate an authentic document’s credentials like a signature, address, picture, etc. These counterfeit documents are later used to commit identity fraud.
• Holograms – A hologram is a picture or a recording that is a replica of a real-world entity. It can be two-dimensional or three-dimensional. Fraudsters use this technology to impersonate something or someone in online verification processes.
• Photoshop – Criminals employ advanced photo editing software to manipulate the system and present edited documents as authentic.
• Photocopies and Screenshots – Some ID verification services require the identity documents to be original. In the wake of this, certain bad actors get a hold of document copies or screenshots to trick the system.
• Compromised Documents – Understandably, physical documents go through wear and tear, with time. But some criminals try to deliberately hide some important information by folding a corner or putting a finger in front of some data.

How Online Document Verification is Performed?

Online document verification eliminates the tiring process of manual document verification. The customers just need a computer system and a stable internet connection to verify their identity. In this process, the customer fills up an online form on the business site. Then, the user is required to provide the government-issued ID document to the system. They can either do this by taking a picture of the document from the webcam in real-time or upload an already saved picture. Following this, the system compares the data described in the picture against the information provided by the user during registration. The online document verification services use artificial intelligence and deep learning technology to check the document’s authenticity.

Is Skepticism on Online Verification Process Justified?

Understandably, some businesses and customers remain skeptical of the online document verification process. Customers, on one hand, have concerns about handing over their data in the hands of someone they have not met in person. These customers, mostly,  question the security of their data. Online businesses, on the other hand, question the reliability of the document verification services. If the verification service falters, then only businesses are answerable to their customers.

To quell the fears of both parties, Identity document authentication services go public with their accuracy rate, privacy policy, and the overall reliability of the verification process they perform. Most of the ID verification solutions claim their accuracy rate to be 98 percent. Although, many businesses are still verifying their customers by the manual process. These businesses risk becoming tools of identity fraud and subsequent non-compliance with AML and KYC laws.