Fraudsters can forge bank statements, legal documents, and driving licenses easily with the help of smart digital solutions. This perplexed companies worldwide because owners were losing customer trust and revenue. In the modern world, criminals can use data scraping and photo editing tools to get their hands on Personally Identifiable Information (PII) to exploit their targets. Document forgeries always cost businesses billions of dollars annually along with credibility loss. In this light, the implementation of document forgery verification solutions can help industries fight fraud attempts and ensure a positive relationship with consumers.
Document Forgeries – A Short Overview
Document forgery is a heinous crime in which perpetrators design fake ID documentation to exploit their victims and bypass the security protocols of organizations. The top 8 most common kinds of records that criminals can create with the use of modern tools are:
- Passports
- Driver’s Licenses
- Checks
- Financial Statements
- Invoices
- Contracts
- ID Cards
- Birth Certificates
Fraudsters can falsify data on records or replace the photos in original documents to achieve their goals. Hence, the implementation of document forgery verification solutions can protect companies against such types of attacks.
Top 3 Types of Document Forgery Techniques
- Freehand Simulation: Using this technique, criminals attempt to replicate the handwriting style, user signature, or design of original ID documents.
- Tracing: It is about duplicating handwritten text, signatures, and document designs with the help of transmitted light. This is where a criminal uses a tracing sheet over the original records to construct identical but fake copies.
- Electronic Manipulation: This is an advanced approach where a perpetrator uses photoshop or other editors to copy consumers’ signatures on official documents.
Gaining Further Insight into the Latest Document Forgery Cases
For decades, criminals have targeted various businesses, government institutions, and individuals to accomplish their malicious goals. Modern-day fraudsters risk their freedom for a number of reasons. They want to make millions of dollars, with less effort, at a click of a button. Unfortunately, digitization has helped criminals to exploit organizational systems. In other words, document forgery has become a widespread crime that is perplexing corporations worldwide.
Nowadays, vast volumes of data have become a new form of currency that fraudsters can use to their advantage. For instance, criminals can steal user Personally Identifiable Information (PII) (e.g., bank details) to defraud the mainstream financial system. Data privacy breaches through online account hacking and Card-Not-Present (CNP) fraud continue to occur each year. Cybercriminals use the information to create fraudulent records to open bank accounts, exploit credit cards, and falsely claim insurance bonuses.
Technological advancement has shifted market trends and customer preferences, attracting hackers’ attention to perform document forgeries for personal gain. Criminals can use fake checks and replicate credit cards easily by using unprotected data on the net, especially information on the dark web. As per the latest report, every 22 seconds there is a new victim of fraud. If companies do not opt for document forgery verification solutions, entrepreneurs won’t be able to mitigate fraud cases efficiently. FTC reported that it received around 3 million fraud reports in the previous year. Consequently, only the application of the latest digital solutions can save modern-day companies from external attacks.
The Whole Procedure Behind Forensic Document Forgery Verification Systems
Professionals can conduct forensic document analysis using two approaches:
- Performing a forensic evaluation in a laboratory
- Using an online document validation solution
In case an agency does have a cutting-edge document forgery analysis system, it can collaborate with a verified third-party service provider to achieve its goals.
Forensic document analysis is about examining user records with the help of scientific method. For this reason, service providers have introduced online document verification systems.
In this modern era, the use of forensic approaches is rising, particularly in legal and government departments. This means staff members do not accept any documents without in-depth verification. Experts use various techniques like:
- Handwriting analysis
- UV ray evaluations
- Microscopic examination,
- Real-time data extraction with OCR
- Infrared Imaging
In this way, experts can comprehensively examine a document for any signs of manipulation. Several major jurisdictions have established specialized departments to address document fraud actively. They have implemented document forgery verification solutions to achieve their objectives. The American Board of Forensic Document Examiners (ABFDE) is a type of agency that supervises document forensic operations in the USA.
Final Thoughts
ID documents play an important role in identity validation of customers. If the security protocols detect any type of scam, fraudsters have to deal with serious consequences such as criminal penalties. It’s important for all businesses nowadays to opt for document forgery verification solutions. This approach not only facilitates compliance with KYC & AML requirements but also restores the company’s reputation. With the help of document forgery verification systems, modern-day businesses can identify forgeries and discourage criminals timely.
