Digitization has provided ease to businesses as well as customers but it also brings some problems with it. Digital identity theft, online data breaches and accounts takeover are the challenges for online businesses and marketplaces. Digital identity theft is serious which is causing a loss of billions to the businesses. FBI’s 2019 Internet Crime Report shows that the business lost $1.7 billion due to online scams. FTC reports 650,527 identity theft complaints in 2019, the number was 370,917 in 2017, the number approximately doubled in just 2 years. The responsibility for the protection of identity and data of customers is on businesses. 

What is Identity Verification?

The verification of the customers through his identity documents is called identity verification or simply the confirmation of the customer who he claims to be. The verifications help a business to comply with KYC and AML regulations. Identity verification ensures the security of the identity of users online. Digital identity theft can be countered by the help of online identity verification of the customers. The online identity verification market is about to reach $18.12 billion in 2027.

Three possible ways of identification

Something You Have

A user is verified with the identity documents he possesses essentially issued by any government authority. These documents may include ID card, driving licence or passport.

Something You Know

Verifying the identity of a user through username, password, pin or other knowledge that a user has. It can include answers to predefined questions that only one particular user can answer.

Something You Are

This way includes verification of a user through his biometrics. Fingerprint and face verification are mostly used as biometrics these days. As biometrics are unique, it gives the best security against identity theft. 

How Biometric Identification Works 

The best way of identity verification is through biometrics because it is the most secure and convenient way of verification. Statista reports more than 75% of American users are already using biometrics.  Username-Password based authentication is not a secure method of onboarding because passwords are easy to steal or crack so biometric authentication is the feasible solution for secure onboarding. Biometric Authentication is also known as Knowledge Authentication in the KYC industry.

Most general types of Biometrics identification are explained below.

Fingerprint 

Fingerprint authentication has been deployed on mobile phones. Users use fingerprints to access their phones or laptops data, it is very feasible because every person has a distinct pattern of fingerprints and it is not easy to by-pass the security system. The fingerprint patterns are stored in a secure database and sometimes in encrypted form.

Facial Authentication

The verification of a user through his face is known as Facial Authentication. Facial authentication collects the distinct features of the user’s face. The feature has already been used for mobile phone’s security. This method is time-saving and does not need any special hardware for deployment, a mobile phone’ camera or webcam can be used for id verification.

As per Covid-19 SOPs and social distancing protocols, facial identification replaces fingerprints in most organizations which use fingerprints for attendance.

Voice Recognition

The user is identified through his voice, the system recognizes the voice by soft-tissue cavities, high-low pitch and airways. The shape and movement of the jaw and mouth are also used for recognition, the collection of the above data creates a distinct voice print. Voice recognition is not secure because it can be copied easily.

Retina Verification

This is not a common method of verification because it needs specialized hardware for installation. Financial Institutions or organizations that need to secure their data more strictly use this method. It identifies the blood vessels inside the eye of a user. This is also distinct and unique with every user. 

Iris, DNA, Hand Pattern and Gait are also ways of biometric identification but not are commonly used. 

Wrapping It Up

Identity theft protection is the need of the hour to secure online users and ID verification through biometrics are worthwhile for every ` to adopt. KYC solutions are giving id verification services that a business can quickly utilize. This will enable the business to have greater customer experience. B2B and B2C communication will be more trustworthy by having online id verification.