But every once in a while we have a major release. Our latest release includes a complete overhaul of our VeriScan for Windows product.
Eligible customers will now have access to a greatly improved VeriScan product for Desktop use.
A modern, user friendly interface
Our support team is always here for you, but the updated user interface was designed to be intuitive so that you don’t need to pick up the phone.
VeriScan Dark mode for low light environments
Click the sun icon in the bar to easily switch between light and dark mode!
Many of our users in the bar and nightclub industries work in low light environments, and we are excited to share that our new VeriScan for Windows app will be a little easier on the eyes.
Configurable view on each scan
You can choose from three views of your scan results card, and configure any tables that appear so that the data most relevant to your business is what is front and center. If all you want to see in your recent visitor history is the date/time of the scan and whether the ID was fake or real, you can configure the columns in the table to hide everything else.
Filter your visitor history by date, time, alerts, and more!
When you scan thousands of visitors per day, finding a particular visitor later can be a daunting task. But if you know approximately the date and time range someone came in, the location they visited, maybe their hair or eye color, and first name, you can now filter and search to narrow your results considerably.
This is particularly useful when you need to file an incident report and manage your customer groups, such as BANNED, TRESPASSED, or VIP.
View visitor history by cropped ID photo
Identifying someone you need to add to your BANNED group after they misbehaved in your establishment can be tricky, particularly if you don’t know or remember their government name. With improved VeriScan for Windows, you can view your visitor history by their ID photo, or by a live photo taken at the time of the scan using a webcam. Visitor history photos are displayed as an array and link directly to their visitor profile which will contain their name and ID information. Finding and adding patrons to lists just got a whole lot easier!
Add images of credit cards, medical cards, etc. with ease
So many nightclubs are prone to credit card chargeback fraud. Someone comes to your establishment and spends thousands in the champagne room, but then denies they or their credit card were present. VeriScan helps you to collect the evidence you need to fight those fraudulent chargebacks by attaching an image of a credit card or person to a visit record. Images can be added by webcam, scanner, or upload.
Customize alerts, sounds, and pop-ups
As a manager, you might want an audio alert to let you know when someone on your VIP list walks in, so you can ensure their needs are taken care of. VeriScan allows you to choose from a long list of sounds for each type of alert, so that you can hear from across the room whether it’s a fake ID scan or a VIP.
All data is stored securely in our protected cloud–no PII on your local computer or employee devices
According to security experts, more than 40% of data breach incidents are caused by lost, stolen, or compromised endpoints such as phones or computers. So it is critical to ensure your customer data and any retained PII is stored on a secure cloud-based server, with multiple redundancies.
If your laptop is lost or stolen, you can simply deactivate the device from our secure cloud, and rest assured that no PII will make its way to the dark web or other nefarious places.
Centralized account management across all your devices
When you have dozens of computers connected to your account, managing the settings on these individual machines or preventing users from falling out of compliance with regulations in your industry can be an onerous task. VeriScan centralizes control of everything devices connected to your account can access. You choose whether end users can add someone to a BANNED group or change your pop-up settings.
How to upgrade your VeriScan for Windows
All VeriScan customers with an active subscription are welcome to migrate to the latest version.
There are a few features that have not made it to our new and improved VeriScan, including custom fields, and optimized webhooks for high-volume scanning. So if you rely on these features, we recommend staying put on the current version for now. We expect to add these features over the next few months!
https://idscan.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/VeriScan-for-Windows-Updates-Blog-Header.png5341600Jillian Kossmanhttps://idscan.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/IDScan.net-Logo-300x137.pngJillian Kossman2023-03-08 08:54:212023-03-23 09:11:52Product Update: VeriScan For Windows Major Release
Protecting children is always a key topic at the forefront of the American media cycle, especially in our current political climate. Legislators across the country have been enacting new laws and rules aimed at protecting minors from a range of influences, which is where digital age verification comes into play.
Many of these new laws include identity verification components that require ID scanning for purchase of tobacco, alcohol, or cannabis. The newest trend is: age restrictions to access online pornographic websites. As a Louisiana-based company, we have had a birds eye view to the nation’s first law requiring digital age verification for internet browsing.
Louisiana Act No. 440, prohibits anyone under the age of 18 from accessing “adult” websites. The law went into effect on January 1, 2023. The law states that “reasonable age verification methods” must be taken to ensure a person seeking access to pornographic material is 18 or older. This means requiring the person attempting to access pornographic material to either provide a digitized identification card, or to comply with a commercial age verification system – more about what that means later…
Act 440 states that pornography is a public health crisis for young viewers due to the hyper-sexualization of teens that may lead to low self-esteem and body image issues. The act also states that entrance into these sites leads to increased problematic sexual activity at younger ages and an increased desire to engage in risky sexual behavior.
“This bill is about protecting our children, not limiting adults.”
Louisiana Rep. Laurie Schlegel, Twitter
The law now requires websites with at least 33.3% pornographic material to implement age verification measures for those located in Louisiana. Traffic to adult websites is, by some estimates, nearly 30% of total web traffic. So this regulation is broad-sweeping and likely to impact a large majority of adult internet users in the state.
What is the current process for identity verification to access adult websites in Louisiana?
Visit www.pornhub.com in Louisiana and here’s what you’ll see. A CTA inside the PornHub website kicks you out to an external page for a site called AllPassTrust.
The AllpassTrust website asks you to create an account or login and take part in digital age verification. For those living in Louisiana, this can be linked to your LA Wallet to confirm identity and age. Upon verification by whichever method you choose, you should then be able to access your desired website.
So who is AllpassTrust?
Little is known about the company other than they are registered in the country of Cyprus and have made a business based on providing access to age restricted websites. They are owned and operated by MG FREESITES LTD, also registered in Cyprus.
The privacy policy on MGfreesites website states that they may collect several types of information from and about users of their applications including name, email address, billing information, passwords, or other online contact information. Obviously, by virtue of age verification they are also gaining access to crucial PII contained in a driver’s license. MGfreesites LTD also notes that they can collect the information by you directly providing it to them, when the app is downloaded (whether consensual or not), and even from third party companies or other applications controlled by MGfreesites or their affiliates.
Who are they and what are they doing with our information? Do Louisiana citizens want their personal information exposed to a company in Cyprus, not subject to US data protection or privacy laws?
Edit: We have received confirmation that AllPassTrust is owned by MindGeek, which Financial Times recently accused of being the true owners of multiple porn sites like PornHub, Brazzers, RedTube, and YouPorn based on public financial records.
If this is true, that would mean the very people that are verifying the ages of consumers to ensure they are over 18, are the same people providing the content in the first place. So you’re giving all of your personal information to the porn sites to verify you are in fact 18, but can this even be trusted? Why would they want to ensure accuracy of age when they stand to make a profit off of users being on their website? And do we want businesses that are in the business of hosting and sponsoring adult content holding sensitive PII of its users?
How Minors Are Circumventing Digital Age Verification
As with most things, children and teens will quickly find workarounds.
Use of Borrowed or Fake IDs
One such method to circumvent these new porn restriction laws would be to borrow the ID of someone who is 18 or older and use it to enter your desired site.
Use of VPNs
Tech savvy minors can also just use a different VPN (Virtual Private Network) which allows people to have a private, encrypted connection online. The VPN would make the user appear as if they are accessing the website from a location other than Louisiana.
Accessing adult content via the dark web
While mainstream sites like PornHub and RedTube have the funds and compliance-mindset to comply with laws such as Louisiana 440, smaller, more niche sites, especially those accessed via Tor, may not. This creates a digital landscape in which minors may be motivated to seek out sites that do not require digital age verification. This may lead them to view more subversive, damaging, or even potentially illegal material. Or access sites that contain malware and viruses.
Legislators must consider that children and teens are digital natives and will find ways to work around these restrictions.
What Exactly Does “Digital Age Verification” Entail?
Louisiana Law 404 states that adult websites must perform “reasonable age verification”, but what does “reasonable age verification” actually entail? We’ve all visited an eCommerce store selling liquor or cigarettes and clicked the “yes, I’m over 18 button.” So how far do these new laws require that websites go to verify age? Do local legislators truly understand the steps required to verify age with a high degree of confidence? Or is their definition of age verification meant just as political theatre.
Digital Identity Verification Overview
The first step to any digital identity verification process is to scan and parse the ID presented – either a 2D barcode or machine readable zone (MRZ), as both of these symbologies contain the date-of-birth, which will be required to determine if a user is 18+.
If the user is presenting a driver’s license or ID card, you will also want to capture the front of that document to ensure the information in the barcode matches the text on the front of the ID.
The ID verification process can be embedded inside the onboarding workflow for the adult website, or accomplished via SMS , which would send an identity verification request to the user’s phone – a lower tech lift for smaller porn sites.
Once the document is verified, the app then prompts the user to do a facial matching process to ensure that the person scanning the ID is the same person trying to enter the website. The app creates a 3D mesh model that combines anti-spoofing and liveness checks to ensure accuracy and validity. Once these quick and easy steps are completed, the user could then be allowed onto the adult website.
But both of these steps are needed to perform true age verification and reduce easy workarounds. This brings up several PII concerns as both ID information, and facial mapping, are required to perform “reasonable age verification” in any instance.
PII and Data Retention Concerns
While ID Scanning and Face Matching are the most accurate and effective methods of preventing minors from accessing porn websites, it will likely raise concerns regarding data privacy and protection. Luckily, our Digital Identity Verification solution is easily customizable to set limits on the type of data that can be stored and for how long. It would be up to lawmakers to set restrictions as to what data can be collected and how long it can be stored, which is already in place in Louisiana, but the technology to protect personal information is already in place from a technological standpoint.
Other States Looking to add Solutions – Utah, Arkansas
Although Louisiana was the first state to pass legislation enforcing age restrictions to enter porn sites, two other states already have legislation in the works; Utah and Arkansas.
Utah
Utah’s newest proposed bills are H.B. 311, proposed by Rep. Jordan D. Teuscher and S.B. 152, proposed by Senator Michael K. McKell. These bills regulate and enact provisions to various computer platforms and social media sites. Both bills would limit internet access for minors using age verification methods.
Utah already has a law on the books – signed by the governor in 2021 – that would require cell phones and mobile devices sold in the state to come with porn pre-blocked. So the traditionally conservative state has already pushed forth measures to auto-restrict access. However, the bill only goes into effect if 5 other states pass similar measures. The feasibility of auto-blocking all adult-content at the device level is murky.
Arkansas
Arkansas is even further in the process of content restriction for minors. Senate Bill 66 was passed by the Arkansas senate on January 31, 2023. This bill would also require commercial entities displaying pornographic material to use “reasonable age verification methods” which are the same methods as those listed in Louisiana. Also similar to the Louisiana legislature, the bill claims that pornography is “creating a public health crisis and contributing to the hyper’sexualization of minors.” The language is so similar, we suspect the same lobbying groups may be involved in passage of the bill.
Sen. Tyler Dees (one of the bill’s sponsors) said the bill was needed to protect children, stating:
“When I look at my children – – I’m a father of three young kids – – and I see technology advancing, and the way I describe it as a weapon. It’s a sword, and it can be used for good or it can be used to cut off your own arm.”
Utah Senator Mike Lee also introduced the SCREEN Act (Shielding Children’s Retinas from Egregious Exposure) back on December 13th, 2022. This would direct the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to issue a rule requiring all commercial pornographic websites to adopt age verification technology to ensure nobody under the age of 18 can access pornographic material.
Our Digital Identity Verification Solutions
New laws and restrictions always pose new challenges for companies to ensure they remain compliant, but our team is always happy to answer any questions. For more information on how DVS works, contact our team or schedule a demo to see for yourself just how effective our solutions are.
https://idscan.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/age-restriction-laws-porn-louisiana-utah-arkansas-idscan.net-header.jpg4491600Brittaney Gillieshttps://idscan.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/IDScan.net-Logo-300x137.pngBrittaney Gillies2023-02-13 15:33:582023-03-23 11:09:15The future of digital age verification - Louisiana, Utah, Arkansas look to require sites to check ID before entry
When selecting ID scanning software, it’s important to carefully consider your specific needs and requirements. The right software solution can help you verify customer age to avoid costly fines, streamline operations, enhance security, and improve your customer experience.
Accuracy of the ID Parsing Engine
The software should be able to accurately scan and extract information from a wide range of identification formats, including driver’s licenses, passports, and ID cards. Not all parsing engines are created equally. You will want a parser that has frequent updates to ID document formats. This will help to ensure that the information you receive is reliable and trustworthy, reducing the risk of fraud.
Processing Speed
The main benefit of using an ID scanner is to reduce manual effort and data entry. You want to ensure your ID scanning software can process IDs in just a few seconds. Processing speed can be dependent on the processing power of the computer you are using to power your ID scanner. Real-time scanning is especially important for age verification, as it ensures that you are able to quickly and accurately verify the age of customers who are attempting to purchase age-restricted products, such as alcohol or tobacco.
Automatic Data Extraction
The software should automatically extract information from the ID, including the name, address, date of birth, and expiration date. This will help to streamline your processes and reduce the risk of manual errors. The automatic extraction of data, combined with real-time scanning, can help to quickly identify and prevent fraudulent activities, such as using a fake ID to purchase age-restricted products. Ideally, this automatic data extraction can be integrated directly into the key systems you use to run your business such as POS platforms or CRMs.
Third Party Checks
You will want the ability to query your data against databases such as the DMV, Sex Offender Registry, and criminal databases to provide a deeper picture of your customer identity.
Customizable Fields
The software should allow you to customize the fields that are displayed, so you can focus on the information that is most important to your business. This will help to ensure that you have access to the information you need to make informed decisions, particularly when it comes to verifying the age of your customers. Ideal systems allow for you to tag customers, add them to lists, add notes, and set up alerts so that your team can be alerted in the event of looping, fake IDs, or banned patrons trying to enter.
Privacy Settings
The software should have robust security features to protect sensitive information and prevent unauthorized access. This includes encryption, secure storage of data, and multi-factor authentication. This will help to prevent fraudsters from accessing or manipulating the information contained in the ID scans, further reducing the risk of fraud. Most states have specific requirements around PII retention and protection of customer data, so a configurable portal is important for managing a variety of settings across multiple locations where you will be scanning IDs.
User-Friendly Interface For Easily Training Security Staff
The software should have a user-friendly interface that is easy to use and navigate, with clear instructions and prompts. This will help to reduce the risk of errors and ensure that your employees are able to use the software with confidence, particularly when it comes to verifying the age of your customers.
Navigation should be simple and intuitive, allowing users to quickly find the information they need. This includes a clear and concise navigation menu, as well as effective search functionality.
Feedback is an important element of a user-friendly interface, as it provides users with information about what is happening within the software. This includes visual cues, such as changes in color or animation, as well as text-based notifications, such as error messages or status updates. Pop-ups that automatically alert staff to underage patrons, or expired IDs make the software foolproof to use.
Ability to scale with your business
The software should be scalable, so it can grow with your business and accommodate increasing demands for ID scanning. This means syncing between multiple devices and locations so that information from scanned IDs is accessible to your full team.
It’s important to carefully consider your specific needs and requirements when selecting ID scanning software, so you can choose the solution that is best for your business.
https://idscan.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/id-scanning-software-blog-header.jpg4501600Jillian Kossmanhttps://idscan.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/IDScan.net-Logo-300x137.pngJillian Kossman2023-02-09 21:08:192023-03-27 17:00:22How to Choose an ID Scanning Software Provider
Not all identity verification is created equally. Many businesses think they are performing age verification, when the hardware and software they are using is not actually equipped to detect suspicious IDs. More than 46% of college students say they’ve used a fake ID to get past age restrictions. And today’s fake IDs can be imperceptible to the naked eye. So, what level of ID verification are you performing at your business?
What is ID Scanning?
ID scanning simply means an ID was digitally scanned. As there are hundreds of scanners on the market today, there is wide variance in scanning accuracy and fake ID detection.
ID scanning does not necessarily include any level of verification or authentication. In many cases, the scanning software is simply calculating if the birth and expiration dates indicate that a given individual is of age, and that their ID is not expired. There are no requirements for embedded security features.
ID Scanning Considerations
Hardware capabilities. Low quality hardware will be less capable of detecting fake IDs.
Sophistication of 2D barcode parsing algorithm.
Breadth of IDs you need to verify on a daily basis. Large states with lots of ID holders have often been seen by algorithms more frequently, and thusly fakes are detected more readily.
Third party integrations. If you have a POS system or database, you will want scanning software that integrates, especially if you have PII retention requirements.
Staff training
State-level compliance requirements.
What is 2D Barcode Security?
At IDScan.net our AI performs more than 75 algorithmic security checks on the 2D barcode (PDF417) during digital scanning.
These are essentially what could be called “easter egg checks.” Most ID formats have some intentional quirks or known consistencies. This might be something as simple as “for all Nebraska IDs, the ID number always starts with an A or a Q.” These are validation points that our algorithms have identified over our 15+ years scanning IDs, and so we’ve built them into our 2D barcode security checks to help catch some fake IDs.
2D barcode security checks can be done using all ID scanners, including mobile phones.
Data from the ID can also be parsed into your database, CRM, or POS at this stage.
Low quality fake IDs are often unable to pass barcode security. So this is a great base for age verification and fake detection. When tested against a library of known fakes, more than half failed this stage of verification.
For an additional layer of ID verification, some scanners can compare the data contained in the barcode with the data on the front of the ID, using optical character recognition.
Best-in-Class 2D Barcode Security
Scans the 2D barcode in 1 second or less
Can check against all parseable fields stored inside the 2D barcode
Can scan and parse all US and Canadian IDs and drivers licenses
Can scan and parse all passport and passport ID MRZs
Performs algorithmic checks against common 2D barcode errors and “tells”
What is ID Authentication?
Authentication is the most stringent stage of ID verification, which requires specialty hardware. A phone, or low end scanner, will not be equipped with the type of camera or lighting required to truly put an ID through its paces.
At this stage, every aspect of the ID will be examined using powerful cameras. The ID will be checked against hologram and watermark libraries. It will be scanned using white, infrared and UV light. It will also undergo an additional series of algorithmic checks which look for variances in spelling, spacing, and
ID design versus known standards. Six images of the ID are simultaneously compared.
Because of the rigor of authentication, reading and returning results for each ID can take up to 10 seconds. This time is variable depending on the scanner, as well as the processing power of the computer that is being used to run the authentication software.
ID authentication can be performed concurrently with 2D barcode security checks and ID parsing. Authentication provides the highest degree of fake detection and accurately catches up to 95% of suspicious IDs. Even the best fake ID manufacturers have difficulty passing the hundreds of checks that are done in the authentication stage.
Best-in-Class ID Authentication
Minimum 400 DPI image capture for both sides of the ID
Simultaneous six image comparison
UV hologram screening library
IR watermark screening library
White light scanning
Infrared light scanning
Additional algorithmic checks on the physical ID
Results returned in 15 seconds or less
ID authentication requires specialty scanners. These scanners include embedded cameras, various types of lights, and often motors which can pull the ID in and out of the device. They require connection to a computer which can perform the data processing required to determine the ID’s legitimacy.
What is Identity Verification?
Beyond checking the physical ID, there is an additional layer of verification that can be performed – matching the human holding the ID to the ID itself. This can be performed in a number of ways but commonly involves facial recognition software.
In-person, this can be performed using a web camera, which matches the live photo of the individual’s face to the photo on their ID card.
In either case, anti-spoofing should be layered on top of the facial recognition, to ensure that a photo or video is not being used to trick the software.
Results can be returned in less than 3 seconds in most cases.
How to improve identity verification for your business
Implementing identity verification solutions is simple and straightforward. It can help you better understand your customer, catch fake IDs, identify underage consumers, and eliminate manual processes.
Contact our team to see how we can implement affordable solutions to help you authenticate IDs, verify your customers, and stay compliant.
https://idscan.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/ID-Verification-Validation-Authentication-Differences-IDScan.net_.png500737Jillian Kossmanhttps://idscan.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/IDScan.net-Logo-300x137.pngJillian Kossman2022-12-03 12:00:182022-12-06 11:11:10ID Verification, Validation, and Authentication - What's the Difference?
Happy Holiday! First, a sincere “thank you” to our customers and partners who have helped make 2022 our best year yet!
Here’s a quick overview of the most important news stories of the year, and some of our company highlights!
2022 Identity Verification Trends
The global identity verification market is currently valued at $8.43B. It is expected to grow to $32.94B by 2023, increasing at a CAGR of 16.35% over that time. COVID-19 continues to help accelerate digital account opening and the need for contactless onboarding processes. Additionally, the increasing frequency of identity theft and identity-related fraud is driving businesses to increase their spend on identity verification services. Though large enterprises account for 68% of global spend on identity verification services, small business investment in the vertical is also growing, as scammers are targeting vulnerable businesses with smaller IT and cybersecurity budgets.
Identity Proofing
Terms such as “validation” and “verification” have been replaced with the broad term of “identity proofing.” Gartner’s 2020 report on the industry established the term, but we really saw adoption increase in 2022, as firms searched for a way to define their solutions more broadly, and differentiate between “authentication” which encompasses password and device management.
Mobile Drivers Licenses (mDLs)
More than 30 states have now either launched, or are piloting digital drivers licenses. Although there is not yet a standard for these apps, they are incredibly popular due to their convenience; more than 70% of global citizens say they would like to have their identity document on their phone.
Apple is emerging as a leader with their solutions for adding drivers licenses to a digital wallet, however this raises accessibility concerns for Android users. Thales Smart ID (used by Florida) is another major player. Every conference we attended in 2022 had multiple sessions on mDLs and the future of digital identity.
Death of the magstripe
All driver’s licenses and state IDs contain multiple symbologies (machine readable technologies) which store data and can be scanned by different devices. For many years, all IDs contained magstripes, which are the big black strip on the back of the ID. Magnetic recording was first invented in 1950, and is used on credit cards, ID cards, and other cards such as hotel room keys and food stamp cards. However, with all states now currently using the PD417 2D barcode, magstripes have become redundant. Iowa, Florida, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Montana IDs and driver’s licenses no longer utilize magstripes, and more states are expected to follow suite.
With EMV chips largely replacing magstripes on credit cards, magstripes are quickly falling out of favor across multiple use cases. Compared to 2D barcodes, magstripes contain less data, are more easily damaged, and are easier to duplicate, thus making them a greater security risk.
The declining popularity of the magstripe also relates to a broader trend, towards machine readable technologies that can be scanned and de-coded using a mobile phone camera.
Facial recognition pulling ahead as the #1 biometric identifier
Although iris scans, voice recognition, vein mapping, and fingerprinting have all been positioned as the future of biometrics. However, facial recognition has continue to lead the way as the most popular form of identity verification. Amongst businesses, facial recognition is most popular due to the ability to face match to the photo on the ID. Thus, it does not require any specialty scans to capture an initial biometric marker.
Challenge questions are getting technical
The “challenge question” has been a mainstay of identity verification for years. They have typically been questions such as “what is your mother’s maiden name?” or “which address have you lived at?” However, now challenge questions are shifting to verify wireless providers, phone types, and browsers.
Age limits on product purchase are a top priority for legislators
The June 2022 FDA decision to deny Juul authorization to continue selling e-cigarettes is a bellwether event for the industry, coming on the heels of a change to the federal minimum age for tobacco sales. Across all states, regulations for the sale of alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, and other age-restricted products are becoming more stringent. Supplements, weight loss products, pornography, firearms, Tide pods, and other products have all been the subject of regulatory debate. The prevalence of delivery services and online purchasing only adds to the conversation, as most eCommerce stores do not have sophisticated age verification technology in place.
We predict more states will begin to expand legal verbiage around age verification for age restricted purchasing to encompass both online and offline sales, and that supplements, kratom, CBD, and additional products will start to attract attention due to their popularity amongst young people.
Biggest Identity Verification News Stories of 2022
2022’s most talked about news stories related to identity verification, age verification, biometrics, and more.
Elon Musk’s quest to eliminate bots, promote free speech, and “authenticate all real humans” on Twitter led to an $8 account verification process with no identity verification. Hilarity ensued.
We launched VeriScan Fingerprinting, which uses livescan devices to create .EFT files, accepted by the ATF and other government entities for background checks. .EFT file submission can reduce approval times from 18 months to 6-8 weeks.
We launched our ID Scanning Laws Portal, now free and accessible to all – keep abreast of the latest legislation related to identity verification.
Cheers to an amazing 2022, and even more excitement in 2023!
https://idscan.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Happy-Holidays-Email-Header.jpeg250600Jillian Kossmanhttps://idscan.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/IDScan.net-Logo-300x137.pngJillian Kossman2022-12-02 13:58:312022-12-06 10:10:302022 Year in Review : ID Scanning & Compliance + IDScan.net Company Updates
Up until 2012, marijuana for recreational marijuana use was illegal. Now it is one of the fastest growing industries in the country, with an annual revenue of $25 billion and growing! But while cannabis is such a lucrative vertical, recreational use still remains illegal in some states, and in others, daily purchasing limits remain heavily regulated.
What is Looping and Smurfing?
Looping and smurfing are very similar, with the difference being in the purchase locations. They are both intended to circumvent the daily purchasing limits by use of creative methods. Both of these methods exploit a “loophole” in the law. Cannabis sellers use looping to acquire amounts of product beyond the legal limits for resale in states or countries where cannabis is still illegal, or to resell on the black market.
Looping
Looping is done by making several trips to the same dispensary in the same day. The customers will go in, purchase the desired products, checkout and leave. Upon leaving, they wait a short period of time and return to the same dispensary and repeat the process.
Smurfing
Smurfing is done in a very similar way, with the key difference being a rotation of dispensaries. Again, these patrons will visit a dispensary, buy the desired products, check out, and leave. But, instead of re-entering the same dispensary, they go to another dispensary and repeat the process.
The Risk of Noncompliance
One of the most recent high-profile cases of noncompliance was back in 2017 with Sweet Leaf. It was discovered that executives were allowing the budtenders to completely overlook these transgressions while allowing some customers to make purchases up to 40 times per day. While the charges against the budtenders were dropped, they were still required to perform community service. As for the executives and higher-up employees, they lost all 26 of their licenses, fined $2 million, banned from the industry for 15 years, with an additional $8.8 million tacked on for unpaid rent fees on the commercial properties. Several former executives were also sentenced to time in prison due to allowing almost 2.5 tons of marijuana to make it to the black market.
How to Protect Your Business
Compliance can be an extremely simple process. All it requires is a few extra seconds with each customer, and a trusted ID Scanner For Dispensaries. With the appropriate hardware and software combination, it all but ensures your business remains compliant.
The appropriate scanner uses a series of lighting checks to check for embedded security features such as holograms and watermarks to help prevent the use of fake IDs. By scanning a customer’s ID upon dispensary entry and/or purchase your dispensary will have an accurate record of each time a customer has entered the premises. When integrated with your cannabis POS system, each ID scan can also be associated with a purchase. VeriScan software includes setup for automatic alerting when customers have reached their daily purchase limit according to your state’s unique laws.
If you’re worried about certain privacy retention laws (PII), don’t worry, because we factored that into our software as well. Based on the regulations of your state, the storage of customer data can be adjusted to ensure compliance on that front as well.
Trying to navigate such a rapidly changing industry can seem tricky, but luckily we have some of the best Cannabis compliance experts in the game. Schedule a call today to see how IDScan.net can help your dispensary remain compliant and protect from looping.
https://idscan.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/ID-Scanning-For-Dispensaries-Prevent-Looping-IDScan.net_.jpg5751200Brittaney Gillieshttps://idscan.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/IDScan.net-Logo-300x137.pngBrittaney Gillies2022-10-04 08:53:312022-10-04 08:53:42How to Protect Your Dispensary From Looping
As a business owner, not only do you have a moral obligation to, but also a legal obligation to to ensure you’re not selling age restricted products to minors. It seems simple, just put an “Are you over 18 or 21?” button on your website right? Wrong! Just having this button in place does not actually verify age, meaning your business might not be in compliance with the law.
Regulations Based on Industry
What are some of the most common e-commerce age verification purchases being made online?
To buy or sell vapes online or other e-cigarettes and tobacco products is extremely common, but you have to be at least 21 to purchase. However, a study by the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center found that in North Carolina, minors were successfully purchasing these age restricted products without any age verification an astounding 95% of the time.
Similar requirements are in place to sell cannabis online. Buyers must be at least 21 years old to purchase cannabis. However, it is a little trickier to successfully purchase marijuana as a minor because upon delivery (if that is available in your state), you must present an ID for inspection before the goods are handed off to you.
For online alcohol purchases, you again have to be 21, but that doesn’t stop teens trying to buy a drink. An article published in Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine found that 45% of alcohol purchase attempts made by underage persons were successful, even despite using their real ID. That leads to a whole other compliance issue, but for now, we are focused on the online aspect of things. As a business owner, do you know how to sell wine online will remaining compliant with state and federal laws? Age verification can help.
One final major industry where age verification is key, online gambling. You are supposed to be 21 to legally gamble, but that hasn’t stopped the children of the internet age. A study found that between 4-8% of youth between the ages of 12-17 years old have a “very serious gambling problem”, while 10-15% more are at risk of developing a gambling addiction. While in person gambling is strictly regulated, the online version is a little murkier. Due to the anonymity and ease of access of online gambling, it has become very easy for minors to gamble if they so desire.
How Can You Remain Compliant Using E-Commerce Age Verification Methods?
Based on your industry, there are a number of precautions you can take to ensure compliance. An easy one is to scan an ID for age verification upon delivery of an age restricted product. A more secure, but still relatively easy method is to add an age verification button to your website. Now, you might think, “I already have one”, but if you’re not taking extra steps past the simple click of a button, your business isn’t truly verifying the age of your customers. This is where IDScan.net comes into the picture.
Adding that little button asking if the customer is older than 21 is a great first step, but what comes next? Our software can be quickly and easily integrated into your existing platform to require that your customers are sent a text message where they can scan their ID, as well as take a selfie that is then analyzed via AI technology to help verify your customer’s age. Our facial recognition technology, anti-spoofing checks, and liveness checks, combined with the physical ID photo that is uploaded, can quickly and easily verify age and ensure your business is taking the proper steps needed to remain compliant.
Here at IDScan.net we are constantly testing and teaching our AI to help ensure security and compliance of the highest standard. To learn more about how our solutions can be integrated into your business or about ID Scanning Laws in your state, please visit our website, or set up an appointment with one of our industry experts.
https://idscan.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/ecommerce-age-verification.png281620Brittaney Gillieshttps://idscan.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/IDScan.net-Logo-300x137.pngBrittaney Gillies2022-09-08 15:40:402022-11-07 10:04:01Why You Should Have Stronger Age Verification Methods on Your Website
Retail fraud comes in many different forms but spells only disaster for retailers. It has seen a large increase in recent years and retail fraud costs retailers tens of billions of dollars each year. And yes, that’s billions with a B.
Just about everyone has had some form of background check at some point. There are many different types of background checks. Each has its own purpose and some even have their own specific field. Read more
https://idscan.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/fingerprint-background-check-vs-regular-background-check.jpg533800IDScan.net Teamhttps://idscan.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/IDScan.net-Logo-300x137.pngIDScan.net Team2021-03-24 11:43:312021-03-24 11:43:33Types of Background Checks
https://idscan.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Mobile-ID-Validation-without-VS-Mobiel-Logo-Square.png431716IDscan.nethttps://idscan.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/IDScan.net-Logo-300x137.pngIDscan.net2021-03-20 08:07:182021-04-06 07:11:24Five Ways to Use Mobile ID Validation to Verify Identity and Onboard Customers
