Biometric Authentication – A Comprehensive Way To Prevent Identity Theft
Nowadays it is seen that fraudsters have countless ways of scamming and breaches in all institutions to achieve their desired motive by using another person’s identity. To combat such circumstances a biometric authentication process is introduced, which helps in onboarding customers in bulk. It is an innovative technology that is used by different businesses, corporate sectors, factories, financial institutions, and now also in academic departments for security purposes. Biometric verification is very beneficial, that can identify a person’s individuality in real-time.
Why is Biometric Identification Essential?
Biometric verification is efficient and important for the current age, it is an advanced technique of acquiring the trust of customers and businesses regarding the security of personal data to maintain the reputation of an institute. There are some aspects below which will tell about the importance of biometrics:
- Quick onboarding: Biometric services are used to onboard the authorized customers and their businesses in real-time.
- Secure channel: Users use biometric services to secure their profiles and perform activities like account opening and transactions online.
- Identity theft protection: Biometrics are very helpful for the protection of the customer’s business and prevent it from fraud. Globally it saves from online theft, in which one can steal personal information for their benefit.
- Prevention from cybercrime: Scammers always have an eye on the personal data of customers and wish to conduct scams like money laundering and fake account opening so Biometrics are used to save businesses from such fraudsters.
- KYC assurance: KYC is an important process of users business verification in which the identities of the customers are verified. KYC screening is essential for the customers of biometrics. Biometric verification offers KYC screening of their customers.
Types of Biometric Technology
There are several types of biometric solutions which are given below:
- Fingerprint scanning
- Face verification
- Voice recognition
- Iris scanning
- DNA
- Handwritten pattern
Fingerprint Scanning
The fingerprint is one of the obvious and convenient types of biometrics which is used worldwide for verification purposes. Mobiles in our hands also have biometric services which can only be opened by one touch of our finger regardless of where we are present. Users can also enroll their business online and can open accounts with any other business platform by submitting fingerprints through smartphones.
Face Verification
Face recognition has vital use in airports, train stations, border crossings, stadiums, banks, offices, and many other institutions but mainly it is more worthwhile in finance sectors. Users scan their faces through webcams, smartphone cameras that detect the micro-expressions, the texture of the skin, and detect the liveness. Online transactions required face verification for authentication purposes for example apple pay and selfie pay. USAA is the first financial institution that adopted the face verification system for transaction authentication in 2015.
Voice Recognition
This type of biometrics solution has provided the end-users with a facility. This is a speech recognition system that is helpful in acknowledging the speech of the user and its pronunciation for the authentication of the identity. This helps the end-users that they do not need to recall the passwords and PIN codes instead use only their voice for authentication.
Iris and Retina Scanning
This kind of unique biometric technology helps in the recognition of the end-users through the complex structure of the eye. The retina in the back of the head has blood vessels that are scanned and stored digitally in a unique pattern which are used for biometric verification. Iris and retina scanning are considered most secure.
DNA
DNA biometrics are required in law departments to track criminals and defendants. This biometric identification performs DNA matching to identify the individual.
Handwritten Pattern
A person’s verification is also based on their signature and handwriting which is another form of biometrics. This might be static or dynamic which relies on the requirements. It is mostly used in financial businesses and banking institutions.
Use Case Of Biometric Services in Travel Industry
Several identification checkpoints are located at airports and hotels where the clients have to get to be verified before onboarding themselves. It is very hard and hectic for customers to identify themselves through their documents. Thus with effective biometric verification, the clients now don’t have to hold passports or related identity documents. Just through facial scanning, the individuality of a person is checked by verifying the face imprint with the credentials placed in the database.
Conclusion
Biometric authentication is mandatory for all institutions and organizations for the prevention of identity theft and to protect the sensitive credentials of all entities. The person is conveniently identified by showing government-approved identity cards, pin codes, and passwords he knows, but the most considered way of verification is biometrics, through fingerprints, face, iris scanning, and handwritten patterns.
