How to Combat Document Forgery in 2025 and Beyond

Why This Update Matters

Digital document forgery is no longer a fringe threat it strikes every five minutes, according to the 2025 Identity Fraud Report.[Entrust 2025]
Shufti’s own network saw a 230 % year‑on‑year spike in deep‑fake ID attempts in Q1 2025.[Shufti Analytics 2025] Coupled with new global rules, 2025 is the year organisations must overhaul their defences.

2025 Snapshot: Document Forgery at a Glance

Before diving into defences, it helps to quantify how quickly the threat has grown. The past 18 months have seen deep‑fake techniques move from niche to mainstream, with fraud syndicates swapping physical counterfeits for AI‑generated IDs.

Take‑away: AI‑generated forgeries have overtaken traditional counterfeits for the first time.

Top Documents Targeted in 2025

Fraudsters focus on identity credentials that unlock the widest range of onboarding journeys and high‑value services. Expect the following documents to remain prime targets throughout 2025:

1. National ID cards – 40.8 % of attacks concentrate on national IDs.[Entrust 2025]
   
2. Passports – still lucrative for cross‑border mule accounts.
   
3. Driver’s licences – exploited in “buy‑now‑pay‑later” scams.
   
4. e‑Residence permits – targeted by synthetic‑ID rings after EU expansion.

Red‑flag patterns: mismatched fonts/kerning, metadata edited in graphics applications, or issue‑dates that pre‑date institutional accreditation.

The Rising Cost of Forgery

When forged documents slip through KYC gates, organisations face direct fraud losses, regulatory penalties, and brand damage all at once.

• UK: Up to 10 years’ imprisonment under the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981 and regulators now factor KYC failures into fines.
  
• France: Fines to €75 000 and up to 5 years’ jail (Penal Code Art. 441).
  
• Germany: Up to 5 years’ imprisonment for falsifying documents (Criminal Code §267).
  
• US: Fraud‑loss exposure averages US $7 m per incident across regulated industries.[Entrust 2025]

Regulatory Landscape 2025

Lawmakers on both sides of the Atlantic have responded to the threat with brisk rule‑making that places document‑verification engines squarely in the spotlight.

What This Means for You

• Map your document‑verification workflow to each rule’s risk controls.
  
• Retain audit logs for at least 6 years (EU AI Act).
  
• Implement liveness & Presentation‑Attack Detection (PAD) that meets ISO/IEC 30107‑3 requirements.

How to Minimise Document Forgery Risk in 2025

No single control can block every attack. A layered approach combining AI, human expertise, and continuous analytics gives organisations the best chance of staying ahead.

1. Layered AI + Human Review
   • Use computer‑vision checks for holograms, MRZ, and microprint.
     
   • Escalate borderline scores to human specialists.
2. Real‑Time Liveness & PAD
   • Detect replay or mask attacks through texture & micro‑motion analysis.
3. Cross‑Database Screening
   • Verify IDs against government and credit‑bureau databases to flag synthetic identities.
4. Metadata Integrity Monitoring
   • Strip EXIF data on upload; quarantine files with editing history.
5. Continuous Analytics
   • Monitor velocity, IP, and device fingerprints. Shufti dashboards surface anomalies instantly.

Where Shufti Steps In

To meet these challenges, Shufti’s Global Trust Platform now ingests >20 million verifications each month and combines computer‑vision, behavioural biometrics, and threat‑intelligence feeds in one workflow.

• Ghost‑Document Detector v2 – flags AI‑generated IDs with 98.6 % precision.
  
• Bot‑Signal Intelligence – blocks mass registrations by correlating keystroke dynamics and device canvas.
  
• Regulation‑Ready Reports – one‑click export aligned with EU AI Act Annex VIII.

Result: Clients cut manual review costs by 60 % and reduced fraud losses by 80 % within 12 months.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1. What is document forgery?
It is the act of altering or creating documents physical or digital to misrepresent identity or entitlements.

Q2. Which documents are most commonly forged?
Government‑issued IDs (passports, national ID cards, driver’s licences) and financial statements top the list.

Q3. How can organisations detect digital forgeries?
Modern solutions combine computer‑vision, liveness detection, and cross‑database checks to spot tampering and synthetic identities.

Q4. Does AI make forgery easier?
Yes generative‑AI can create highly realistic fake documents and faces, but AI also empowers detection systems to flag anomalies at scale.

Q5. How long does document verification usually take?
State‑of‑the‑art platforms complete document verification including liveness checks within 30–60 seconds.

Conclusion

Document forgery has crossed the digital Rubicon. With AI tools in every fraudster’s arsenal and regulators raising the bar, static controls are no longer sufficient. Businesses that combine AI‑driven document analysis, robust liveness detection, and continuous risk analytics will protect revenue, uphold customer trust, and stay ahead of 2025’s compliance curve. Shufti stands ready to help so your customers can prove who they are, instantly and securely.

References

1. Entrust (2025) Identity Fraud Report 2025.
   
2. Sumsub (2024) Fraud Report H2 2024.
   
3. European Union (2024) Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 Artificial Intelligence Act.
   
4. GOV.UK (2024) Digital Identity & Attributes Trust Framework v0.4.
   
5. United States Congress (2024) Improving Digital Identity Act of 2024.
6. Shufti (2025) Internal Analytics Q1 2025.