The Value of Identity Proofing

In the modern world, keeping data safe and preventing fraud is of the utmost importance. Companies, governments, and various industries lose money to fraud every day. With so much of modern business moving online, proving that your customers are who they say they are is an important part of daily business activities.

Identity theft remains one of the most common cyber crimes costing billions per year in losses. These losses can include stolen data, lost resources, general theft, and fines due to violating various regulations. By using identity proofing and verification you can verify that your users and customers are who they say they are.

A key reason identifying proofing is needed is because online sales of goods and services often rely on self-registration, such as a customer setting up an account at your company’s storefront or signing up for services. Often, accounts can be set up with very little actuarial information to establish a person is who they claim to be. This allows cybercriminals an opportunity to use stolen information in various ways to defraud your company.

Identity Proofing Explained

Identity proofing is a process of verification. It verifies that a user or customer is the person they are claiming to be. This process is done before access such as a user ID is provided. Identity proofing checks a user’s claimed identity versus their actual identity. Proofing ultimately proves that a person is being honest about who they claim to be or making use of stolen information. Identity proofing can be considered a first-line defense to protect yourself from cybercriminals.

What Fraud Can Cost Your Company

Identity theft is one of the most common types of fraud and one of the ones you are most likely to encounter. Millions of cases of identity theft are reported every year to law enforcement with reports increasing yearly and total costs climbing. As commerce and services become further integrated into the internet and online platforms, this creates new areas where protection such as identity proofing is needed.

What Identity Proofing Checks

Identity proofing checks several types of data that cannot be faked. These include a credit report which tracks the financial history of an individual and a facial scan to verify appearance versus other detailed records associated with an individual. Also, trusting identity proofing to an outside professional can save time as they have expertise in checking such information, and you don’t have to track down and crosscheck various records. A proofing system gathers information about a claimed identity and checks it against the records of the claimed person to verify honesty.

Implementation

By implementing identity proofing, you add another layer of protection to your business and protect your systems and information from criminals making use of false or stolen identities. If you have a large user base or work in an industry that regularly attracts new customers’ identity, proofing is critical because you are exposed to a greater risk of fraud due to the nature of your business. Identity proofing can be added at various levels of your company, not only in sales but also in the hiring process. Some criminals are bold and will apply for job openings with stolen information with a goal of information or property theft. With remote becoming more common, these bold types of applicant fraud are likely to continue.

Final Thoughts

In the modern world, keeping your company safe and its information secure is a challenging task. Criminals are always innovating methods and tools to steal valuable information and resources from companies. Any point of vulnerability can be used against a company. Tools such as identity proofing can protect you by removing these vulnerabilities.