Digital ID verification deployed to tackle fraud in finance, travel, sports, ad buys

Identity fraud rates in the UK have gone down following the pandemic but remain high and are expected to rise over the challenging quarter ahead.

The findings come from a Freedom Of Information (FOI) request submitted by Ireland-based selfie biometrics provider ID-Pal and compiled into a recent analysis published by the company.

According to the new data, complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) regarding identity fraud soared over the COVID-19 pandemic, ending 2020 at 44 percent higher than in 2019. The figures then went down, but in 2021 were still over 18 percent higher than pre-pandemic levels.

According to ID-Pal, numbers for 2022 are notable because they are projected to experience an overall 10 percent increase compared to 2021. The company attributes this foreseen increase to increased costs of living in the UK.

“Fraudsters thrive on instability, so as the cost of living crisis grows, it follows that fraud will also increase,” comments ID-Pal CEO Colum Lyons. “Therefore, it is critical that financial institutions protect their organization, team and customers from fraud of any type without adding friction to their services.”

According to the executive, the results of the FOI request show how easy it is for criminals to commit identity fraud.

“If they succeed in opening up bank accounts, these are then used for illegally sourced funds. Once a criminal is done with an account, they can disappear,” Lyons adds.

The identity expert also mentions that the results show that identity fraud cases have reduced since the pandemic, proving the dial can be moved in the right direction.

“Newer generations of fraud prevention technology exist that are adaptable and customizable, like ID-Pal, so the excuse that the solution to prevent fraud can’t be integrated into an organization easily is no longer acceptable,” Lyons concludes.

The ID-Pal report comes months after the company partnered with data-quality and address-management company Melissa.

OCR Labs deploys biometrics in Admiral Money partnership

To tackle these increasing fraud rates, several companies in the digital ID verification and selfie biometric space are stepping up their efforts, both in the UK and around the world.

OCR Labs Global has been chosen by Admiral Money, an insurance firm, as its digital identity verification provider to enhance and accelerate onboarding processes.

The collaboration will enable Admiral Money to verify the identities of people applying for loans in seconds, compared to a previous wait time of up to three days.

The OCR Labs technologies enabling this simplified ID verification process include document verification, fraud detection and biometric matching.

The partnership comes weeks after OCR Labs announced it was certified for the UK Digital Identity & Attributes Trust Framework (DIATF).

Incode and Cabify partner on selfie biometrics for ID verification

The second digital ID solution provider in our list today is Incode Technologies, which recently joined forces with mobility platform Cabify.

The Cabify passenger identity validation system, powered by Incode selfie biometrics, is already active in several countries and has been designed to offer a simple onboarding process.

Integrated into the Cabify app, the digital ID and biometrics-powered technology is reportedly part of Cabify’s strategic roadmap to reinforce its commitment to improving urban mobility.

As for Incode, the company is finishing 2022 with a number of strategic moves, having recently entered a separate partnership with Sardine, announced South Pacific expansion and unveiled a customer path-building add-on.

Global ad platform chooses iDenfy biometric onboarding

Identity verification technology from iDenfy has been selected by global advertising platform MGID to secure customer onboarding and transactions with selfie biometrics and liveness checks.

MGID highlights the ease of integrating iDenfy’s digital identity verification and KYC processes, and the wide range of identity documents it supports, in an announcement of the customer win.

“KYC practices, once strictly used in financial institutions, are standards now adopted by industries outside the financial sector. At MGID, we’re implementing identity verification to ensure an effective tracking system for suspicious activities and transactions,” says Oleksandr Nazarenko, head of the Fraud Protection Department at MGID.

CAF looks at ID verification for sports betting

The third and final company on our list today is Brazil-based CAF, which published a series of guidelines on how to best verify users and prevent identity fraud in the sports betting industry in the country.

According to the firm, good practices in this field include preventing minors under 18 and individuals on a restricted list from participating in games or placing bets.

This, CAF explained, can be achieved by deploying effective identity verification solutions, which ensure not only the identity of applicants but also their legal ability to partake in betting activities.

The company highlighted, in particular, the importance of face biometric technologies to match document photos to the faces of potential players.

For additional information about best practices to identify users and prevent fraud, the CAF guidelines are available at this link here. Their publication comes months after CAF announced that Emma Lindley MBE will lead the company’s international expansion efforts.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  CAF  |  digital identity  |  face biometrics  |  fraud prevention  |  iDenfy  |  identity verification  |  Incode  |  OCR Labs  |  onboarding  |  selfie biometrics