Deepfake detection with biometric ID & document authentication
Karthik Mani
CPTO, Documents & Biometrics
Financial institutions (FIs) face an ever-evolving landscape of fraud. In our Global Fraud Report, 96% of fraud prevention professionals are concerned about the industrialization of fraud, with 79% noting a significant increase in the sophistication of fraud attempts over the past year.
Given a variety of fraud threats, taking a basic approach to verification won’t allow institutions to effectively protect themselves.
Deepfake detection: fight the globalization of fraud
Fraud does not respect borders and affects financial institutions worldwide. In fact, reporting shows fraud has become progressively more industrialized. Making matters worse, threats often spread rapidly across regions and industries, shape-shifting thanks to advances in technology. According to an analysis by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), businesses worldwide lose an estimated five percent of their annual revenues to fraud.
Fraudsters double down on deepfakes
Over half of EMEA respondents in our Global Fraud Report have seen an increase in fraud attempts, with 71% expressing concern over deepfakes.
The European Union's Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) underscores the importance of digital resilience in mitigating these risks. Finacial Institutions might have reportedly earmarked €5 million to €15 million to mitigate risk and stay compliant with DORA.
To reduce the cost of fraud and regulation institutions must be able to proactively answer: Can I trust that the person I see on the screen is real? Can I trust that this ID is not fake? Advanced identity proofing technologies are crucial in addressing these questions and take a dedicated approach to detecting deepfakes, regardless of region.
What are deepfakes?
Deepfakes are rendered digital media that convincingly mimic real people. With the growth in GenAI technology, Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) that can create hyper-realistic but entirely fake images and video have proliferated and elevated the security threat for identity-proofing systems.
Popular face-swapping apps, like Deep-Live-Cam, Reface and Magic Hour offer out-of-the-box solutions to generate passable facial deepfakes that can be injected into an unprotected biometric authentication process.
“Deterring sophisticated forms of fraud is critical to safeguarding both institutions and consumers from potentially devastating consequences."
Synthetic identities: same threat new tricks
Beating synthetic identity fraud, while not exclusive to the US, is a key activity for institutions in the region. The average payoff from synthetic identity fraud (SIF) is estimated to be between $81,000 and $98,000, according to Deloitte.
Seventy-nine percent of US-based financial institutions surveyed in our Global Fraud Report expressed worry over a rise in SIF. The report highlights growing concern over the use of generative AI by fraudsters to create more convincing and accurate synthetic identities.
SIF presents a sophisticated and constant threat for the financial services industry and defeating it is not easy. With the right tools in place, however, FIs can take a proactive approach to beating the fraud vector.
“The rise of synthetic identity fraud is a clear indicator that traditional security measures are no longer sufficient. Financial institutions must leverage advanced technologies to stay ahead of fraudsters and protect their customers.”
Fight fraud trends with document authentication and biometric ID verification
As the financial industry embraced digitization, bad actors took advantage of the situation to evolve their methods. Fraudsters leverage advanced technologies to perpetrate crimes more effectively and take advantage of the digital economy.
Our CEO, Dev Dhiman, has long highlighted the growing need for effective risk management, noting that the rise of open banking, interconnected devices, and ecosystems, along with increased digital adoption, has expanded the attack surface for institutions.
In an evolving digital landscape, relying on biometric ID verification and deepfake detection are becoming essential tools in identifying and preventing fraud. The integration of biometric ID and document authentication solutions offers a powerful defense against identity theft and forged credentials.
Heightened risk of digital fraud requires a proactive approach to safeguarding financial systems and customer data. Failure to meet these obligations has led to substantial enforcement actions by regulators, emphasizing the critical need for robust risk management strategies.
“New technologies are being exploited every day by innovative perpetrators who continue to challenge FIs to escalate their technology risk management strategy and capabilities to comply with the increased scrutiny by regulators and customers alike."
Dev Dhiman | Chief Executive Officer | GBG
Biometric ID verification as a solution
Deepfakes, synthetic identities and innovative fraudsters pose significant challenges to financial security across the globe. While different regions face unique threats, fraud has become increasingly industrialized and globalized.
In the US, synthetic identity fraud is a major concern, but it is not exclusive to this region. Fraud prevention professionals in APAC and EMEA also recognize the risks associated with Generative AI's ability to create convincing synthetic identities.
The US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) observed a rise in suspicious activities involving deepfake media, alerting institutions to the potential use of deepfake-powered fraudulent identity documents to circumvent traditional verification methods. Additionally, our fraud report shows 77% of US respondents citing financial loss to AI generated voice deception.
What is the impact of voice deception?
Voice deception is a social engineering threat where attackers use AI to replicate a person's voice to deceive their target. This allows them to impersonate trusted individuals.
Gen AI can replicate human voices with astonishing accuracy. Fraudsters use this technology to create fake phone calls or voice messages that appear to come from trusted sources. This can lead to unauthorized access to secure systems, financial theft or other forms of manipulation.
Incorporate biometric and document solutions to create a seamless CX
Incorporating biometric-based identity verification helps institutions tackle fraud more effectively, no matter where they are. Additionally, they can also create better customer experiences:
Simple experience:
seamless customer identity proofing in seconds with real-time guided image capture that meets global accessibility standards.
Omnichannel access:
prevent fraud and welcome customers securely online and on-premise, for businesses that require in-person identity proofing.
Establish trust in real time:
activate advanced identity proofing to prevent fraud and authenticate customers accurately and securely, anywhere.
Identity document verification made simple
Our frictionless integration solution is designed to makes the entire document verification process simple for you and your customers. We aim to minimize development efforts, ensure effortless integration and help you to deliver a seamless experience that accelerates customer onboarding.
Tools for security and ease
The speed and convenience of biometric solutions are big pluses, with most processes done in just a few seconds. This allows financial services to quickly onboard and reward more genuine customers.
Incorporating biometrics into a layered approach to verification, delivers dynamic onboarding journeys that respond to risk, a complete defence against fraud.
Impersonating physical characteristics, known as presentation attacks or spoofs, is difficult due to sophisticated scanner or camera sensors and liveness checks that verify genuine presence. This makes biometric ID verification a solid and reliable solution for modern identity verification needs.
Comprehensive biometric ID & document intelligence
The global fight against financial fraud is complex and requires a concerted effort, as there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Creating a secure journey for customers requires a modern approach to identity verification.
Document and biometrics solutions become stronger when apart of a multi-layered approach to identity verification:
Test identities for trust and fraud signals:
Our cross-industry GBG Trust network unites 1000+ global brands over 28 sectors, giving access to billions of insights from beyond your business to defend against fraud.
Fight global fraud with an extensive document library:
Access our global library of 8,500+ government-issued IDs spanning 195 countries to fight identity fraud worldwide.
Biometric and document solution to simplify your tech stack:
Be future-ready with access to data, documents, biometrics, risk signals and fraud modules all in GBG Go, the all-in-one identity platform.
Get to market faster:
With ready-made customer journey templates covering common digital identity and fraud protection use cases.
Building biometric ID validation with document authentication into a seamless journey, financial services can deliver an efficient and secure identity proofing experience.
With these capabilities in place, you're ready to take the next step: designing and deploying intelligent customer journeys
Start with confidence
The GBG Go Journey Builder allows you to choose an existing industry, country or identity standard use case template—or go your own way with a blank Journey Canvas.
Whether you choose a pre-built template tailored to your industry, region or compliance needs—or begin with a blank canvas—you’re equipped to build journeys that align with your business goals from the outset.
Add intelligence with ease
By incorporating modules from the Processing section, you can seamlessly integrate identity verification, fraud detection and risk assessment into your customer flow—ensuring each step is both secure and efficient.
Tailor outcomes to your risk appetite
Customizing labels, selecting variants and defining outcome criteria allows you to align decision-making with your organization’s unique risk tolerance and compliance requirements.
Make smarter decisions with Evaluations
Evaluations act as intelligent checkpoints, guiding customers down the most appropriate path based on their risk profile—enhancing both security and user experience.
Maximize ROI through adaptive routing
Automatically accept low-risk customers, reject high-risk ones and route medium-risk individuals through additional verification like document authentication and biometric checks—balancing security with conversion.
Deploy with peace of mind
With dedicated preview and production environments, you can test and refine journeys before they go live ensuring every change supports your operational and compliance standards.
The result is a dynamic, data-driven customer journey that not only protects your business but also builds trust and satisfaction with every interaction.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does document authentication help prevent financial fraud?
Document authentication involves verifying the legitimacy of documents using advanced technologies such as AI and machine learning. This process helps detect forgeries and alterations, preventing fraudulent activities before they can cause harm.
Is biometric ID verification considered more secure than traditional methods?
Biometric based verification methods use unique biological characteristics, such as fingerprints, facial recognition and voice recognition to verify identities.
Face-matching algorithms compare an ID photo to a customer-captured selfie, zooming in on 68 biometric facial landmarks to securely verify their unique claim to that identity and confirm that the document holder is the same document owner.
These traits are much harder to replicate, or steal compared to traditional passwords or PINs, providing a higher level of security against unauthorized access and identity theft.
Can biometric ID verification help create positive customer journeys?
While some forms of biometric verification are faster than others, most processes can be completed in matter of seconds, providing a convenient and secure digital defence against identity fraud.
And with no PINs, passwords or other knowledge-based responses required, biometrics don’t tax our memories to deter imposters. The real convenience of biometric based solutions is that we carry our credentials with us wherever we go.
