What comes to mind when you think of fake IDs? Bad laminate jobs to sneak into bars when people are underage? Those days are gone. These days, even counterfeit IDs for underage kids are more sophisticated, and in modern times, they’re not the only ones using them.
Forged documents are big business and a serious problem for businesses. Thanks to Photoshop skills, high-resolution printers, and entire online marketplaces dedicated to churning out fake IDs, they’re not just minor issues for outlets selling alcohol; they’re a problem on a wider scale.
Let’s take a look at some of the risks presented to businesses thanks to fake IDs.
Fraudulent Transactions Add Up Fast
A fake ID isn’t just used to allow someone pretending to be 21 when they’re not; it’s a golden ticket for fraud. People can use fake IDs to open accounts, take out credit, and run up loans and credit cards, and before you know it, they’ve vanished without a trace. For many retailers, this can be visible via an increased number of chargebacks. And sadly, a good fake can be hard to spot, and this is why online tools exist, so you can verify people’s identity as a business before you complete a transaction to reduce the chance of fraud and ensure your business is with whom you think you are.
Reputational Damage
Fraud isn’t just limited to balances and payments; it’s more widespread when it comes to the damage it can do. And when it comes to light, your business wasn’t able to protect itself against fraud, it can be hard to recover from this.
Headlines such as “fraudster uses xxx to scam dozens” don’t go away fast, and even if you put measures in place to stop it happening again, this will stick with you for a long time. And the irony is, you cannot prevent this by putting more stringent onboarding measures in place and using document verification tools to help you verify people’s identities and reduce the risk fraudsters pose to your business.
Security Breaches
Fake IDs aren’t just for borrowing funds; they’re a physical security breach. The right credentials can allow people access to more sensitive parts of your business, which only limited people should be able to access. A contractor with forged credentials will be able to walk into a secure facility, no questions asked, or a remote hire can slip in past HR checks thanks to good forgery. And the damage can be enormous. Biometric checks can reduce this happening, and face matching and liveness detection can help back up ID or alert you to something untoward going on.
Time and Money Wasted
Manual checks, while a great support, can cost you time and money. Plus, humans can make mistakes or even be part of the scam, too. When there are a lot of people to check, for example, it can cause employees to rush, meaning you’re at risk of greater mistakes. Automated ID verification can do the opposite. It handles onboarding for faster completion, fewer errors, and less time and money wasted chasing fraud after it’s already happened.
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