We avoid disclosing methods we use to stop identity theft and organized crime as it jeopardizes their effectiveness. Criminals are constantly adapting their tactics, and they use information about our protections to harm innocent people. ID.me uses a specific “1 to Many” check on selfies tied to government programs targeted by organized crime to prevent prolific identity thieves and members of organized crime from stealing the identities of innocent victims en masse. This step is internal to ID.me and does not involve any external or government database. It occurs once during enrollment, and exists to make sure a single attacker is not registering multiple identities. This step is not tied to identity verification. It does not block legitimate users from verifying their identity, nor is it used for any other purpose other than to prevent identity theft. Data shows that removing this control would immediately lead to significant identity theft and organized crime. The 1:1 Face Match step is the only step used to verify identity as explained in our earlier reports. A more detailed explanation of this process will follow in additional posts and our Unemployment After Action Report. For example, Eric Jaklitsch of New Jersey had used stolen personal data to register more than 300 different devices and phone numbers in the names of other people. He also had counterfeit and stolen identity documents that represented the identity of his victims. In this situation, when a criminal has stolen personal data, a phone and a photo government ID that represents his victim, the selfie check is the only step capable of protecting these individuals. Without this step, these individuals would have been harmed and the government would have lost at least $900,000 without recourse. https://lnkd.in/dAhKzuGX
