ID Verifying May Have Just Become A whole Lot Simpler

ID Verifying May Have Just Become A whole Lot Simpler

id verifying

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Law enforcement agencies and businesses have started using the Age ID app to combat the use of fake IDs. The ID verifying app uses a phone or tablet’s camera to scan the barcode on the back of an ID such as a driver’s license, all in under 10 seconds.

Russell Hanna, the chief of enforcement for Mississippi Alcoholic Beverage Control, told Fox News that his agency started using the app during the last summer.  He explained authentic information from a real license barcode is often replicated and used on countless fake IDs but while the information on the front of the license may look legitimate, the barcode is difficult to re-create and contains information that does not match up.

According to a study published by the National Institutes of Health, over 12 percent of college freshmen from a large Midwestern university reported owning a fake ID for the purpose of obtaining alcohol. That number grew to over 30 percent at the end of their second year.

While the technology shows consistent success, it’s not 100 percent perfect. “We’ve had a few, very very limited number, that it said was good and they were not,” Hanna said. “We found out they were not good by some other means,” Hanna said.

Intellicheck works with DMVs around the country to identify newly developed fake IDs. “We re-do our software to catch the new points of quality that they put in to make that almost indistinguishable from an authentic license,” William Roof, CEO and president of Intellicheck added.  

The developers of the app say that the company adheres to FBI security guidelines since the technology involves personal data.  Intellicheck also added that it does not keep any personal info, however, businesses may keep information if they decide to ban a person from their establishment.

The app isn’t something anyone can download from the App Store. “We’ll vet you and make sure you’re an authentic business,” Roof said. “Then you download the app and it’s a monthly subscription fee with unlimited scans.”

The app can be downloaded through Apple’s Business to Business (B2B) app store and an Android app is currently being developed.  

So far, hundreds of businesses are using the app and North Carolina’s alcohol enforcement agency has adopted its use as well. The app could soon be used by over a dozen different state law enforcement agencies who are currently exploring its use.

The same technology behind Age ID is also used to prevent fraud in the retail industry and safeguard the country’s ports and military bases. A similar app called Defense ID is used to safeguard 23 army installations and 16 U.S. ports and high-end retailers such as Helzberg Diamonds use the Retail ID app to prevent fraudulent purchases and returns, according to Initellicheck. The technology could potentially help improve a retailer’s bottom line.  Data compiled by the National Retail Federation states return fraud and abuse was between $9.1 and $15.9 billion for 2015. There will also be potential Homeland Security uses in the future.