
How to Combat Document Forgery in 2023 and Beyond

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As digitisation continues to change our world and daily practices at an exponential rate, criminals continue to conjure up new ways to bypass our ever-changing security measures, thus making ID document verification a necessity across most sectors; all businesses are required to adhere to strict Know Your Customer (KYC) compliance requirements and in the event of failure, may face hefty non-compliance fines.
Many firms still use manual processes to authenticate their clients. However, these archaic methods are time-consuming and error-prone, making it easier for fake documents to pass through the security check. This is where automated document verification services come to the rescue, streamlining the process and mitigating the risk of fraud.
Forgery can take shape in any form; however, all share a similar aim – the financial exploitation of individuals. Scammers alter most common documents used for authentication, such as driving licences, passports, ID cards, and work permits.
In line with the research of Shufti Pro’s in-house team of experts, 2022 witnessed a rise in ID theft, with expired and tampered documents being the common reasons for rejection. The last year marked a 24% rise in ID document forgery compared to 18% of such cases in 2021. Among the forged documents, 40% were passports, and 26% were ID cards.
Criminals are commiting document fraud by altering a genuine document through various means and techniques. Here are different types of documents prepared by scammers to fulfil their malicious intent.
Scammers also use genuine documents to perpetrate fraud:
The penalties for document fraud differ from country to country. Below are a few examples of different legislation penalising scammers for document forgery:
Here are a few things that businesses must consider to stop document forgery in the age of digitisation:
Proper verification of documents is crucial to comply with KYC and Anti-money Laundering (AML) regulations. This is where Shufti Pro fits in the puzzle, offering an AI-powered document verification solution to onboard legitimate clients within seconds.
Here’s what makes Shufti Pro’s document verification solution stand out:
Still confused about how a document verification solution keeps fraudsters at bay?