3 Top Tips for Identifying Fake Documents

Traditional methods of verifying a customer’s identity are very much still alive. Manual checks of identity documents are still widely used by a variety of different sectors in an attempt to prevent fraud, but how can fake documents be identified to ensure they don’t pass the test?

Manual identity verification checks are not just time consuming, but also produce a lengthy and clunky onboarding process for your customers. How can we identify fake documents in an automated and simpler manner?

1. Check for obvious mistakes

This one may seem simple, but check for obvious mistakes – some fraudsters aren’t too good and can make simple mistakes! These could be anything from a simple spelling mistake to inconsistencies in typefaces.

1. Look for unusual formatting

Another easy error to spot could be some strange formatting or text that’s seen to be more blurry than the rest of the document. If a document has been scanned into a computer and then edited, the edited text will more often than not appear different to the original text.

1. Check documents against official databases

A more lengthy way to check whether a document is fake or not is to check the document against an official database. Some countries will have an official database that you will be able to check for validity on identity documents against. This will inevitably take longer than your average check, but it will ensure that you are battling against fraudsters.

HOW CAN THIS BE PREVENTED?

Although manual checks can be pretty accurate, they may not always catch out the fake documents.

Automating the process can help with this and also speed up your identity verification checks for a customer, utilising OCR technology to read the documents.

HOW WE CAN HELP

Hello Soda’s identity verification and fraud prevention solution, Profile iD+, allows businesses to verify their customer’s identity in just two clicks. Our OCR technology solution, iDocufy, allows businesses to automate the verification process whilst accurately validating documents in under 5 seconds, producing a simple pass or fail for the document.

Get in touch today to learn more about how we can help your business to verify more good customers and combat fraud.