3 top tips for choosing acceptable forms of ID

It may be hard to know which types of ID to choose as acceptable forms for new customers to verify themselves. There are many challenges and considerations, especially for global companies, with customers in different countries that each have different forms of ID. 

Here we give you some top tips to help….

Staying a step ahead of fraudsters is always difficult. They’re always coming up with new and clever ways to get around electronic document checks.

We work in partnership with global companies from all over the world to verify national ID documents. We are able to verify over 5,000 forms of national identification from anywhere. There isn’t one document that we haven’t been able to authenticate.

However, from our vast knowledge and experience in ID document verification, we know what makes for good identification to accept, and which factors make things more risky.

It’s a complex and rapidly changing landscape, but we often find that our clients can best protect themselves by carefully selecting up front the forms of identification document that they will accept.

Here are our top 3 things to consider when deciding whether or not to accept a form of ID:

1. How easy is the ID to copy?

Some types of ID are much easier to counterfeit than others, for example short form UK birth certificates. By limiting the type of IDs you accept to those that are centrally and digitally produced, you automatically limit your exposure to fraud.

TIP: Choose to accept identification that has special markings, features, holograms, codes and symbols – all of which are difficult to copy.

2. How easy is the ID to change?

Whilst some IDs are easy to copy, others are easy to change, especially when part of a digital journey. For example manipulating the text or changing the name or the photo. Some forms of ID document have features which are much more difficult to amend, and simple validation checks will highlight discrepancies on amended documents.

TIP: Choose to accept identification that has check sums, MRZ codes, barcodes and electronic chips built in.

3. How robust is the ID registration process?

Some IDs require very little identity verification when you apply for them, so for example, a Student Union card can be obtained without any other identification checks in place. Once you have fraudulently applied for and received a valid form of identification, it’s much easier to get the next, and over time build a set of legitimate documents that prove you are someone else.

TIP: Choose to accept identity documentation that has a rigorous process in place to obtain it.

What we offer at Acuant

We offer iDocufy, best-in-class ID document verification software. This allows customers to verify any national ID document in the world.

We suggest to companies where possible to advocate the use of ID that’s most secure against the chance of fraud, whilst being convenient to the user. For example, passports, driving licences, and national ID cards.

If other forms of ID need to be accepted in certain countries, using documents that are easier than others to forge, we suggest subsequent checks, such as using ProfileID.

We also offer BioMatch, facial authentication software, which can biometrically verify the photo image on any national ID against a live selfie, photo, or video of a user.