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Identity Fraud Taskforce

Identity fraud taskforce

Moving at the Speed of Fraud

Essential to the groundbreaking efforts of our Identity Fraud Taskforce is the exceptional talent that propels it forward. With a diverse team of experts, we relentlessly pursue our mission to fight fraud, protect identities, and cultivate trust in an ever-changing digital landscape.

taskforce

A Shared Mission

Our Identity Fraud Taskforce is built to move at the speed of fraud—detecting threats before they reach our clients and building a platform resilient to the most advanced attacks. We stay ahead by studying fraudsters’ tools and tactics, preparing for what’s next.

This esteemed team consists of over a dozen specialists, each bringing their unique accolades and expertise to the table, including:

  • Ph.D. and M.S. level Data Scientists in AI, Machine Learning, and Computer Vision
  • Senior Level Machine Learning Engineers
  • Optics and Material Scientists with decades of document design and authentication experience for federal and local law enforcement
  • Licensed Certified Fraud Examiners (CFE)

Identity Fraud Tactics
We Fight

Identity fraud is evolving fast—and so are the tactics bad actors use to exploit verification systems. At AuthenticID, we stay ahead of the threat landscape by detecting and preventing the most advanced forms of identity fraud. Here are just some of the tactics our technology is built to stop.

Counterfeit IDs
Deepfakes & Face Swaps
Injection Attacks
Synthetic Identities
Generative AI Faces
Fake Signatures
2D & 3D Facial Recognition Spoofs

The Leaders of our Identity Fraud Team

Nathan Short
Nathan Short, Ph.D.
Director of Applied Research
Stephen Thwaits 1 e1750793404120
Stephen Thwaits
SVP of Global Solutions
Waseem Shadid
Waseem Shadid, Ph.D.
Senior Researcher
Spandana Vemulapalli 1
Spandana Vemulapalli
SENIOR Applied Scientist
Jay Harrell e1750793482701
Jay Harrell
Director, Software Engineering
artwork 1

Wall of Fraud Forensics

500+ Forensic Checks to Block Fraudulent IDs & Synthetic Identities
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Biometric & Behavioral Analysis
Digital Screen Structure
Headshot Photo Tamper
Photo Border
Headshot Replacement
Text Tamper
Material Analysis
Digital Retouch/Image Pasting
Photo Splice
ID Saturation
Paper Detection
Screen Photo Detection
Signature Font Detection
Digital Artifacts
Photo Stitching
Headshot Detection
wall fraud forensics icon 2
Data-Based ID Analysis
Document Liveness
XMP Data Check
EXIF Data Check
Time Zone
OCR Extraction
MRZ Extraction
Barcode Integrity
Data Structure Patterns
Barcode Extraction
Expired ID
Textual Symbol Errors
Document Watchlist – AID
Date Integrity
Data Field Comparisons
Document Watchlist – Client
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Biometric & Behavioral Analysis
Liveness Detection
Face Match
Face Enrollment
Re-Authentication
Biometric Tamper Check
Geo-location Check
Selfie Camera Orientation
Our Work

A Day in the Life of our Identity Fraud Team

Step into the dynamic world of our Identity Fraud Taskforce, where innovation meets vigilance. Through meticulous research and the development of fraud fighting machine learning algorithms, we strive to stay ahead of emerging threats. Our dedicated team works to deliver accurate, comprehensive identity solutions and actionable insights to our customers.

Extensive Research

Our team conducts research on highly sophisticated counterfeits and biometric spoofing techniques through optical and material lab experimentation​, systematic literature reviews, and code-breaking research. Our team curates specialized and custom datasets for algorithm development based on lab discoveries.

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Machine Learning & Algorithm Development

The Identity Fraud Taskforce team specializes in machine learning and computer vision algorithm development, model training, and hyperparameter tuning for optimal results. Additionally, the team conducts proof of concept studies to validate effectiveness in real-world scenarios by testing them in diverse environments and context.

Taskforce 3
Daily Testing & Evaluations

Our Identity Fraud Taskforce specializes in model optimization and model integration to fine-tune our fraud detection models. They validate the effectiveness of our solutions by simulating scenarios against use cases to ensure system reliability and accuracy across different contents. Our Data Scientists leverage our validated fraud solutions deployed into production to provide unique insights into identity data passing through customer systems.

Taskforce 1
Fraud Monitoring & Reporting

Our Identity Fraud Analysts monitor fraud and inbound threats in real-time, analyzing hundreds of thousands of verification data each month to detect anomalies and enhance our system. This process fuels the data and fraud trend insights that are provided in our Identity Fraud Report and customized performance reviews with customers.

Taskforce 4
Industry Collaboration & Customer Advisement

Our team collaborates with our customers to proactively gather fraud intel and aids and advises customers during escalations to quickly block new fraud vectors. This information is provided back to our research team to ensure timely development of relevant fraud detection algorithms.

Taskforce 5

Over 40 Patents: Fueling Innovation at Our Core

Throughout our journey, our team members have registered more than 40 patents and proudly secured over a dozen patents across the United States, Europe, and Asia. Our relentless pursuit of innovation continues to drive us forward, shaping the landscape of identity protection and fraud prevention.

These patents cover a diverse array of innovations in the fields of:

Tamper detection and characteristic detection techniques for identification documents.
Extracting information from digital document images.
Advanced data structures and data processing systems for physical counterfeit document detection.
Document layout analysis in digital images.
Data and transaction decisioning systems.
Velocity systems for fraud and data protection of sensitive data.
Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for printed and handwritten text in digital images.
Development of obfuscated identification templates for secure transaction verification.
Digital document recognition and processing.
Spoof detection using illumination sequence randomization.
RESOURCES

The Proof is in our Protection

All Resources
FindBiometrics Podcast Chris
Podcast
Walking the Privacy Tightrope in Identity Fraud Prevention with AuthenticID’s Chris Borkenhagen
On this week’s episode, we’re joined by Chris Borkenhagen, AuthenticID’s Chief Digital Officer, who offers insights on cybersecurity and biometrics, the changing regulatory landscape, and why there’s no “silver bullet” for preventing hack attacks. Chris brings a level of expertise to the discussion that clearly has a lot of depth and breadth, and manages to do so with classic Canadian good humour. Be sure to check out AuthenticID’s 2024 Mid-Year Identity Fraud Review, which informs important parts of the conversation:
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2024 Biometrics Digital Identity Prism Report
Biometrics
Report
2024 Biometrics Digital Identity Prism Report
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ID Talk Podcast Beyond Biometrics Blair 2
ID Verification
Podcast
AuthenticID’s Blair Cohen on the Evolution of Identity Tech
This week, the ID Talk podcast welcomes Blair Cohen, the Founder and President of AuthenticID. Blair is a serial entrepreneur with over three decades of experience in identity verification and fraud prevention. He shares his journey from founding one of the world’s first background screening companies to pioneering innovations in digital identity, including the development of automated facial recognition and forensic document examination technologies. The conversation dives into key issues shaping the identity technology landscape, such as the rise of organized crime in digital fraud, the evolution of government ID verification, and the technological advancements powering AuthenticID’s platform. Blair explains the complementary differences between the company’s proactive Velocity Check solution and its reactive Fraud Shield system, while also offering insights into behavioral biometrics, identity proofing standards, and the importance of robust fraud detection in protecting both consumers and enterprises. This episode offers a fascinating look into the dual evolution of digital fraud and identity assurance technology. Whether you’re a tech professional, a business leader, or simply curious about how cutting-edge solutions are keeping your data safe, you won’t want to miss this in-depth discussion with one of the field’s leading innovators.
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All Resources