3Hill Credit Union provides a full range of personal banking services, including checking and savings accounts, auto loans, personal loans, mortgage options, and online/mobile banking to its community of several thousand people. It needed a robust identity verification solution to combat increasing fraud in the financial industry, because management at 3Hill knows that even one fraudulent account can create operational strain, financial exposure, and reputational risk.
Fraud in financial institutions is on the rise. IDScan.net recently surveyed 15 banks and credit unions in our database, and 100% of participants reported having fraud concerns of some kind. More than half of participants suffered a financial loss related to fraud in the past 12 months, with in-branch fraud being the biggest concern. The need for a more sophisticated ID verification workflow was apparent after 3Hill Credit Union suffered a recent loss themselves resulting from a fraudster who was able to open an account using a fake ID.
With fraud trends across financial institutions continuing to evolve, especially around new account fraud and identity-based schemes, 3Hill Credit Union chose to take a proactive approach to strengthening its ID verification process.
The Challenge: Moving beyond manual review
As fraudsters become more sophisticated with access to AI enhancement, FIs need to combat their advances with a layered approach to identifying fraudulent documents and stopping bad actors before they gain access to a member account.
Before implementing IDScan.net’s solutions, 3Hill Credit Union relied on manual ID checks through a workflow that required the clerk to compare an ID number with their guidebook. Manual checks are timely and leave room for human error. While this process provided a baseline level of screening, it depended heavily on manual inspection and offered limited visibility into the deeper data contained within an ID. Staff could match the photo and validate basic information, but they lacked insight into the embedded security and data elements that identity documents contain.
As fraud across the financial industry increasingly targets account opening workflows, 3Hill Credit Union recognized the value of adding a more advanced verification process.
The Solution: VeriScan authentication for account opening
In April of 2025, 3Hill Credit Union implemented IDScan.net’s VeriScan, a comprehensive ID verification platform designed to help businesses securely capture, validate, and manage identity information. Using an E-Seek M500 scanner, frontline workers can scan a prospective customer’s ID and know instantly whether or not the document is valid. Furthermore, with VeriScan’s backend management system, 3Hill Credit Union is able to track its customers and demographics to be better informed about the community they service.
Typical identity verification workflow:
- Member presents their government-issued ID
- Frontline staff scan the ID using the ESeek M500
- VeriScan parses and validates the data in real time
- Staff confidently proceed with account creation
Implementation was smooth and required minimal operational disruption. The primary challenge was simply reinforcing consistent usage among frontline staff, which is a common and manageable problem when introducing new technology.
“We learned that there are a lot more details within an ID than you can tell by simply looking at it, matching the picture to the person, and running the numbers through FIS ChexSystems.”
Laura Lawrence, Director of Operations
3Hill Credit Union
VeriScan revealed the depth of data encoded within IDs and the need for a reliable solution to catch inconsistencies that the human eye can’t detect.
The Results: Reliable results and improved customer satisfaction
With VeriScan in place, 3Hill Credit Union has achieved:
- Greater confidence during member onboarding
- Visitor management tools to better inform future processes
- Quicker onboarding and increased customer satisfaction
- A scalable process to support future growth
While fraud incidents have historically been infrequent, 3Hill Credit Union’s proactive investment in ID verification ensures it remains prepared as industry risks evolve.
By modernizing its ID verification workflow, 3Hill Credit Union reinforces its commitment to protecting members, maintaining compliance, and delivering a secure, seamless onboarding experience.
