Digital companies often face identity fraud that not only affects their day-to-day operations but raises questions about money laundering and other financial crimes. The information customers enter when using online services, including names, social security numbers, addresses, and Social Security Numbers (SSN), increases the risk of cybercrime. Identifying each customer and keeping their information safe has become a major challenge for digital service providers. The number of document fraud cases is increasing every year, despite the constant efforts of all digital companies to eliminate it. Data breaches are increasing by almost 68% rate in the US alone each year, and insurance companies are the primary targets for fraudsters. Documents are a key component for businesses that provide online services because they are the primary means of confirming a user’s identity. Implement state-of-the-art document authentication systems, including optical character recognition (OCR) and forensic document verification.
An Insight to Document Forensic Verification
People have engaged in counterfeiting since the dawn of civilization, especially when it comes to faking seals, manuscripts, and signatures. All these scams have forced law enforcement agencies to find ways to prevent criminals from engaging in these illegal activities. The first examples of the science of documentation came from the Roman Empire in the 3rd century. Romanians at the time were notorious for counterfeiting, and laws were passed to verify their authenticity by examining crime-fighting documents. In 539, the Roman emperor Justinian introduced the “Code of Justinian”, which laid the foundations for forensic document verification and ordered judges to hire experts to check for forgeries.
Businesses around the world use forensic document verification, including scientific law, to examine evidence and ensure its security. All businesses employ document analysis experts who employ a range of techniques to verify the veracity of the data. Experts use photography, infrared imaging technology, and handwriting identification techniques to fight fraud.
A New Standard of Substantiate – Forensic Document Verification
In addition to making operations more secure, new technology also encourages fraudsters to employ trickier techniques to find security flaws. Unlike many other digital service providers, Payoneer, Paypal, Amazon, Walmart, and many others are not using traditional methods of confirming customer identity. Instead, they have adopted strict verification rules for user records. In the UK alone, consumer spending in 2021 will reach £1.3 billion, up 27% year-on-year. There is no question that businesses using forensic document verification techniques today are sufficient to stop criminals’ devious con actions. The entire system needs more advanced and full-featured forensic document verification to fight fraudsters. Criminals use forged documents to make money, get into college, or enter a foreign country. Online businesses can secure their onboarding processes with remarkably low fraud risks by implementing forensic forgery detection standards. By employing cutting-edge techniques to verify users’ identities, forensic verification of documents totally eliminates the chances of fraud.
Global Watchdogs Who Monitor Document Forgery
Forensic document verification has been recognized by international regulators as a crucial tool in the fight against money laundering, terrorist financing, and other financial fraud. The European Union (EU), Interpol, and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) are some of these watchdogs who are monitoring document tempering. Due to this, many nations now have strict laws in place to deter crime and stop document fraud.
United States of America (USA)
US Code Title 18, Section 471 defines document fraud as a federal crime. It states anyone who falsifies, counterfeits, misrepresents, or tampers with any bond or other security issued by the United States is guilty of a federal crime. The severity of the punishment for an offense can range from hefty fines to even jail time.
United Kingdom (UK)
Document fraud is now illegal in the UK thanks to the “Forgery and Counterfeiting Act,” which also imposes harsh penalties on offenders. All industries are covered by the law put forth by the UK government, including banking, insurance, online businesses, and education.
Germany
One of the nations with a fairly strict policy toward document forgery and those responsible for this illegal activity is Germany. It is a criminal offense under German law to make false records or forge genuine documents, punishable by a fine or up to five years in prison. Code 267 of the German Criminal Code is so clear about the falsification of documents that even any attempt to falsify details is considered a crime.
France
France also has strict laws against fake documents. So there are far fewer cases of identity fraud than in other European countries. Even one forgery can result in criminals facing a two-year prison term and a 30,000 euro fine in France. If the crime is more serious, the penalty can be up to 5 years and a fine of 75,000 euros. They may also face a variety of sanctions, including freezing their bank accounts and blocking their access to online services.
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