Photo Verification - Why does it matter for businesses?

Uploading a picture of anything but your actual photo to represent yourself online is a practice nearly as old as the internet itself. Being in the shoes of people who do it, maybe they are insecure about how they look or wish to appear on the internet. It stretches so commonly that the need to upload a profile picture to an account anywhere online is standardly not mandatory.

However, this does lead to troubles and crimes which is why it is becoming increasingly necessary for businesses and websites to verify users of how they look in real life. Hence, the requirement for photo verification is needed for businesses and financial institutions to follow to meet various security regulations and compliances such as Know Your Customer (KYC).

What troubles does photo verification eliminate?

Uploading a fake picture leads to many sorts of problems. Here is a list of the potential dangers it would create to not photo verify users:

• Synthetic Identity Theft

If there is no evidential photographic proof of a person’s face then there is little to stop criminals from misusing stolen identities. With fraud occurring up to eight times higher on digital platforms, it is crucial for companies to verify photos of users. Synthetic identity theft alone is responsible for various other crimes such as credit card fraud and tax evasion, etc.

• Chargeback Fraud

Lack of a customer’s photograph makes it difficult to identify and authorise purchases or deposits made in their name. This inevitably results in the possibilities of the actual user demanding a chargeback whether they in fact made the purchase or are a victim of identity theft. Either way, it ends in a loss for businesses which gives them even more reason to take up identity verification.

• Money laundering

Not having photo verification is bliss for criminals who could easily launder their illegally earned money. With money laundering accounting for 2% of the world’s GDP, banks especially find it crucial to carry out identity verification of their customers to prevent and detect any transaction involving unlawfully earned money.

• Cat-fishing

One of the most common parts of scams is when a victim is fooled because of the attractive fake photo used by criminals to represent themselves. Nearly 4000 people were victims of romance fraud in the UK during 2016.

It is, for this reason, why social media and dating platforms request users to verify the picture they use of themselves with selfies. This also tackles identifying and reporting sexual offenders and predators to protect the community.

Bot detection

Gaming and virtual casinos often deal with the presence of bots during games that bring disturbance and unfairness to other players and the experience of the game. While most bots are now smart enough to crack captcha tests, photo verification helps identify these cheaters to establish security and strictness in game moderation.

How do online photo verification services help improve security

With thanks to the advancement of technology, it is frantically easier to verify the personal identifications of an individual. Through the use of their camera, a user can take a selfie along with a picture taken of a document containing evidence of their identity such as their personal identification card, passport, or driving license.

AI helps capture the information from the document using OCR and also helps verify the face in the selfie with that of the document by shuftipro. With that, the identity of the person is verified with no chance to fool the system using a fake picture as the use of depth and live facial recognition helps authenticate a face being genuine or not.

Final word

All in all, it matters greatly to incorporate online photo verification services for businesses as security is a high priority. These efforts ultimately lead to a safer and improved experience for people online.

Users will appreciate the concern that is put into their safety which provides businesses with increased user retention and growth.