The era of technological advancement also paved the way for the forging of documents, IDs, and records of persons. The documents are forged to fulfill various goals like getting a job, getting admission to a reputed institution, or even buying a home or flat in the city. So, if you are an organization that has a large employee base you want to be sure that the candidates you are hiring are actually the same candidate they claim to be. This clearly points out the importance of background verification of IDs submitted by your employee.

#Impotance of Identity background check:-

In the present digital scenario ID proofs have become crucial for accessing services be it private or government. Using the details of Id, forgers and hackers can assume someone else’s identity and ruin the life and career of the concerned person. This clearly shows the importance of identity checks in the background verification process.

#Process to verify someone’s identity:-

Identity checks of the person can be carried out by validating the govt provided IDs like Aadhaar card, PAN card, Ration card, Passport, etc. Details like Name, address, and age are available on the govt record which can be cross verified from these records. This process immensely helps the hiring team of companies to verify the identity of aspiring candidates for jobs. Some processes for the verification of the ID are described below:-
1. Online verification:-
This method involves determining government-issued IDs belonging to the person who is applying for the job. This method is performed by users by providing their picture holding a govt ID.

2. Credit Bureau based method:-
This method involves retrieving information on the credit score of the person from the credit bureau as these bureaus have large databases of consumers including their names, addresses, and ID information like Aadhaar cards and PAN cards.

3. Database methods:-
This method involves retrieving data from various sources like social media as well as offline databases. This method however may not be effective sometimes because many false online profiles can easily be created by the individual

4. Two-factor authentication:-
This method requires users to provide a token in addition to a username and password. This token must be memorized by the candidate. It helps in creating a strong deterrence for fraudulent activity. This two-factor authentication is particularly useful while creating accounts and resetting passwords.

5. Knowledge-based authentication:-
This method requires that a person must know the answer to his security question which is known only to him. One additional safeguard that can be added to this verification is the requirement of providing an answer within the specified time frame. The main disadvantage of this method is the easy retrieval of answers via social media networking and another social engineering process.
#Case studies related to the ID fraud:-

#1 Case study:-. Recently the Nagaon police arrested a person with possession of several fake Aadhaar cards, PAN cards, SIM cards along with several electronic items. The person is accused of having fake IDs and informed the police that he created many online accounts on TATA Neu and received a credit limit of up to Rs 1.5 lakh per Aadhaar card and SIM number. From this money, he ordered various electronic items and received them via parcel. This news clearly demonstrates that easy forging of identity and its misuse can take place if not reported or checked by authorities. News source – ‘Northeast now’ Dated – April 24, 2022

#2 Case study:- Chandigarh police recently arrested two people impersonating police officers having fake IDs and all relevant documents. They were impersonating the police officers of UP Police. One of them was a woman aged 25 years and another was a man aged 24 years. When police asked for their ID they showed the relevant document but they were found to be fake. News source – ‘Tribune news service’ Dated- April 22, 2022

Over 90 countries now require businesses to do a background verification and keep the record for several years with them. Looking at the increasing forgery of the IDs it should be the organization’s top priority before hiring them