ID authentication

ID Authentication

Our full ID authentication solution puts IDs through more than 400 AI-powered security checks, detecting up to 95% of fake IDs.

What is ID Authentication?

ID authentication can also be called “fake ID detection” because its purpose is to catch fake IDs. ID authentication offers the most robust set of security checks on an ID using specialty, multi-camera hardware to put an ID through its paces and confirm its legitimacy. IDScan.net ID authentication is capable of detecting 90-95% of fraudulent IDs.

Ultraviolet light ID scanning
White light ID scanning
Infrared light ID scanning
Hologram template checks
Watermark template checks
Simultaneous 6-image capture
Front and back data comparison
Barcode data format checks
State-specific AI checks

Levels of ID Verification

Not all ID scanning is created equally. Below, you’ll find the 4 most-common levels of ID examination, and what checks are included in each. The more checks you are performing, the more opportunities you have to spot a fake ID.

Basic ID Parsing2D Barcode Security ChecksFront & Back MatchingID Authentication
Parses 2D (PDF417) barcodes on IDs and drivers licenses
Date of birth is compared to current date to determine customer age
ID expiration date is checked
75+ algorithmic checks on 2D barcode
2D Barcode size/dimension checks
2D Barcode data format checks
State-specific 2D barcode checks
Compare 2D barcode data to text on front of the ID using OCR
Ultraviolet light ID scanning
Infrared light ID scanning
White light ID scanning
6-image comparison and examination
Checks against ID hologram libraries
Checks against ID watermark libraries
Catch up to 95% of fake IDs
ohio driver's license

How common are fake IDs?

12.5% of US high schoolers and 46% of US college students admit to possessing and using a fake ID. Fraudulent IDs can easily be purchased for as little as $25 from foreign websites.

Most of these fakes seem and feel legitimate to the naked eye. Even highly trained bouncers and security professionals will fail to identify the IDs as suspicious.

How ID Authentication Works

There are multiple processes which must occur simultaneously to verify whether an ID is legitimate.

Ultraviolet Light Checks

Using UV light the ID scanner ensures that holograms are present under ultraviolet conditions.

Infrared Light Checks

We use three spectrums of light when examining each ID to increase our fake ID detection accuracy.

Hologram Library Match

We use AI to check the holograms against our known library of known ID hologram formats while under UV light.

Watermark Library Match

We use AI to analyze the watermark on the background of the ID against known ID watermark formats.

Best ID Scanners For Catching Fakes

To catch fake IDs you will need specialty hardware capable of multi-light scanning and checks against hologram and watermark libraries.

CR5400 retail GTO

CR5400 ID Scanner

This toaster-style scanner from Thales is one of the most cost-effective authentication devices on the market. It can authenticate drivers licenses and ID cards in <3 seconds.

E-Seek M500

Powerful and durable, the E-Seek M500 digital forensic document reader can fully authenticate all IDs with an extremely high degree of accuracy, using its high resolution cameras.

AT9000 3

Thales AT9K

The Thales AT9K is a legacy scanner, replaced by the AT10K, but is still powerful. In addition to IDs it can scan global passports and read passport RFID.

All of these scanners require hookup to a computer with at least 32-bit or 64-bit processing capabilities. To perform authentication at speed you want to ensure you have the required bandwidth on the device.

Download the full technical specifications to ensure your computer or workstation is ID authentication ready >>

Remote document authentication made easy

Physical document authentication is not possible to perform remotely. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have a high degree of confidence in the validity of your customer’s identity. 

Our digital identity verification API can be paired with robust third party checks to databases such as the DMV and IdentiFraud. They return near-instant results to confirm that each customer is who they say they are.

Perfect for combatting synthetic identity fraud, highly secure onboarding, and KYC for financial transactions.

Compare ID Authentication Capable Hardware

All the scanners below are capable of performing best-in-class ID authentication and forensic document reading.

ID ScannerThales CR5400Thales AT10KThales AT9KE-Seek M500Thales KR9000
Scanner typeDrop-inFlatbed, hoodedFlatbed, hoodedDrop-inFlatbed
Reliably scans all US government issued IDs and drivers licenses (PDF417)
Scans global passports, and other MRZ documents
Scans medical marijuana cards (view available states)
Use optical character recognition (OCR)
Read RFID
USB Powered (device receives power from the computer)
Requires external power supply
Capture photos of the ID or cropped ID image
Simultaneous dual-sided image capture
Ultraviolet (UV) light scanning
Infrared (IR) light scanning
White light scanning
Perform hologram checks (when paired with VeriScan)
Perform watermark checks (when paired with VeriScan)
Capable of detecting up to 95% of fake IDs (when paired with VeriScan)
Time to authenticate (per ID) – may vary based on system speed10.8 sec11.9 sec15.3 sec8.9 sec
Manufacturing locationUS/ChinaChinaChinaSouth KoreaChina
Compatible with Windows OS
Dimensions7″ x 4.25″ x 4.53″7.4″ x 6.3″ x 2.6″7.5″ x 6.4″ x 6.2″4.8″ x 5.7″ x 8.5″7.5″ x 6.4″ x 4.8″
Weight2.2 lbs2.4 lbs2.2 lbs4.5 lbs2.4 lbs
SDK

Integrate ID Authentication

Easily integrate our authentication SDK into your existing Windows, iOS, Android, or Linux application.

We have designed our system to be easily installed by your development team and consistently update our library with new ID formats as they are released, ensuring our technology will authenticate even the newest IDs.

Frequently Asked Questions

How accurate is your ID authentication?

We regularly achieve accuracy at detecting more than 95% of fake IDs. However, fraudsters are tricky and they are always adapting. Fake IDs become more and more sophisticated each year. There will always be exceptional fakes that cannot be detected by any software (or the human eye). Our software is AI-powered, and we continuously train three distinct neural networks to improve our rate of fake detection.

Additionally, we go above and beyond to prevent false positives, because we know the last thing our customers want is to turn away a legitimate patron, or accuse an honest customer of using a fake ID. For this reason, we offer configurable strictness levels, which allow you to determine your own acceptable thresholds to best meet your business objectives.

Can a mobile app (iOS, Android) catch fake IDs?

Mobile apps can catch some percentage of fake IDs using 2D barcode security checks. 2D barcode security (sometimes called “ID validation”) performs a series of checks on the information on the 2D barcode. These checks are for fake ID “tells” such as mis-spellings, using incorrect abbreviations (ex. shortening Brown to “BWN” instead of “BRN”), size, and location of the barcode. Many low quality fakes cannot pass these barcode security checks, and so apps that read only the 2D barcode (mobile apps and ID scanning software running on a mobile device) can catch these.

However, we have compared the results of some of the most commonly used mobile apps which claim to verify age and detect fakes. They caught less than 35% of the fakes in our library, and some of the apps caught none at all.

How much do you charge for ID authentication?

ID authentication is included in our top plan for our VeriScan product. It is also available via SDK, or paired with WizzForms software. Each has a different cost.

What types of scanners can perform ID authentication?

ID authentication requires ID scanning hardware that can perform UV, infrared, and white light scanning, front/back matching, and hologram and watermark library checks. We sell the following authentication-capable ID scanning hardware:

E-Seek M500 (best-in-class)

Thales AT10K (IDs and passports)

Thales AT9K (IDs and passports)

Because we know this sophisticated hardware can sometimes present a cost barrier, we sell open-box and certified refurbished scanners at a low price point.

What if a person simply uses another person’s legitimate ID?

ID authentication can only tell you whether a document is authentic. Identity verification using facial matching is required to match the individual to the photo on the id.

How do you authenticate mobile drivers licenses (mDLs)?

mDLs are very new, and thusly the security features have yet to be fully documented consistently. We offer ID scanners that are capable of scanning mDLs and authenticating physical IDs. To provide an additional layer of security when mDL use is expected, we can provide DMV data verification checks that will confirm that the ID was issued by the state, and confirm the information on the ID in <3 seconds.

How long does it take to authenticate an ID?

Scanning an ID and returning results varies based on whether you are performing a 2D barcode security check, or full authentication.

Request More Information

Use the form below and an ID authentication expert will get in touch to help you find the right solution for your needs

The Latest Fake ID & ID Authentication News

Stay on top of news related to the risk of fake IDs, and how your business can combat their use

Download our Fake ID Report

Looking for the latest data on fake ID usage and composition? We analyzed data across millions of scanned IDs and thousands of confiscated fakes to provide our customers on a robust guide to fake IDs.

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