Identity Document, Biometric Face Match and Liveness

Identity Document Verification

Identity document verification is done by scanning and validating the integrity of a government-issued identity document. Verify support Passports, Driving Licences, or National ID Cards.

The document verification process uses analysis techniques using templates from the document issuers, and performing the image analysis required to confirm the integrity of the provided ID document.

Physical tamper checks use matching and pattern discrimination techniques based on machine learning algorithms. This identifies feature and noise levels in regions corresponding to printed characters and attempts to detect whether the image is an authentic physical ID document or a recapture on paper or a screen.

When detecting portrait photo substitution, some fraudsters will physically replace the photograph on a genuine identity document with another to masquerade as the bona fide holder of the document. Portrait photo tamper checks need to account for large intra-class diversity (background, watermark, ethnicities, etc.), varying lighting conditions (day, night, exterior, interior, etc.) and image quality (camera, compression, blur, etc.).

Using both traditional and deep-learning-based detection algorithms, as well as, when available, using the original encrypted digital image encoded in the Passport NFC chip, portrait photo substitution attempts can be identified.

Biometric Face Match

Biometric technology has become a gold standard of identification. During the user journey, clients are required to capture a ‘selfie’.

Sophisticated software then uses 68 facial landmarks to extract the facial features. The algorithm recognises natural changes between the ID image and the video image to authenticate identity via a liveliness test.

The Biometric Face Match check will determine that the person undergoing the identification process is the legitimate holder of the provided identity document verification.

The portrait photo is extracted from the uploaded identity document for the biometric face match. The advanced facial recognition algorithms, it analyses and compares the facial features in the live selfie with those in the document photo. The system calculates a score based on the confidence of the match. If the score passes the required threshold, the check will pass.

If an e-passport is used, the chip photo will be extracted using NFC (Near Field Communication) technology. This provides a gold standard of verification as the chip photo, portrait photo and selfie photo are all cross-validated as part of the check.

Active Liveness Test

Liveness detection tests are designed to ensure that the biometric data being provided during an identity verification process is from a real, live person, not a spoof or a static image. This is achieved through a series of real-time challenges that require physical interaction. For example, the system may ask the user to smile or move their head in a certain direction.

The system then analyses the user's responses to these prompts to check for natural movement and variation, which would be indicative of a live human being. Through these tests, liveness detection adds an extra layer of security by preventing spoofing attacks, such as using a photograph or a video in place of a live face.

Personal Details Match

The personal information is taken using OCR (optical character recognition) from the identity document. For e-passports, NFC is also used to extract personal information. The details are then checked against the personal details provided by the customer. Ensuring that it is the same person and the cross-referencing with the invite details sent from the portal.