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AuthenticID |
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August 12, 2013 Issue |
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The Most Powerful Name In Corporate News and Information |
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An Identity Risk Management Company, AuthenticID Introduces Innovative Solutions through their Team of Executive Management, Technical Experts and U.S. Government Agents and pictureID Product with the Ability to Authenticate Identity at 100% Accuracy |
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Identity fraud is the
most prevalent crime in the world, and authenticID is introducing innovative
solutions which have not been available to commercial companies until now.
To ensure success, an expert team has been assembled to launch the company,
including executive management with a history of success creating a related
industry, technical experts in document authentication, and former agents of
the US government responsible for defeating the tactics used by the most
ingenious identity thieves.
Since 2011, Cohen has focused on developing a vastly better method to authenticate identity than what presently exists. This led to the formation of authenticID in early 2012. Today, authenticID’s novel identity proofing products - catfishID and pictureID - are unparalleled in their innovation and effectiveness. Setting the new industry standard of excellence, catfishID forensically examines all government issued IDs and automatically determines the authenticity of the ID presented in under an astounding 9 seconds. catfishID’s accuracy is unmatched and the solution works with both driver’s licenses and passports - worldwide.
Under Cohen’s visionary leadership authenticID’s latest innovative solution, pictureID, is a paradigm shift in identity proofing. Unlike any other solution available, it provides 100% absolute accuracy versus a probability score – a claim no other company can make. pictureID is able to provide an actual photo revealing the true identity of the ID’s owner, thus adding an invaluable extra layer of security for any corporation.
As Cohen continues to develop his pipeline of pioneering technology products, he anticipates the industry’s needs by building systems which increase productivity and efficiency while greatly reducing costs and saving time.
Through authenticID’s partners – both leading providers in their respective field of document authentication and law enforcement solutions, the company has access to the most advanced technology and engineering expertise in this field. Together with ongoing investigative research and guidance provided by former agents of the US Secret Service and FBI, authenticID has been able to create “commercially ready” ID authentication solutions that will end the threat of identity fraud - forever. |
Identity Verification
AuthenticID Suite 15 Atlanta, Georgia 30309 770.335.5114
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Interview conducted by:
Lynn Fosse, Senior Editor, CEOCFO Magazine, Published – August 12, 2013 Mr. Cohen: AuthenticID is an identity risk management company. We prove you "are who you say you are," however, our approach toward solving this question is unique in the industry. All current identity vendors presently use massive volumes of public records combined with sophisticated algorithms to generate a probability score indicating the "likelihood" you are who you say you are - whereas our pictureID product is able to definitively authenticate identity with 100% accuracy.
CEOCFO: How will you be doing that? Mr. Cohen: We have a couple different modalities. pictureID provides direct connectivity into all of document issue records in the United States and Canada. Instead of hitting public record databases, we are able to go directly to the document issuer. For example, if you live in the state of New York, we are able go directly to the DMV and confirm all of the information on your driver’s license, and we also pull back the picture that you took when you obtained your ID. This extra layer of security allows positive confirmation of identity, thus defeating schemes commonly used by fraudsters.
CEOCFO: Is it not a public record? Mr. Cohen: These are private records. These are the DMV and Passport agencies’ records which are highly confidential. Only criminal justice agencies are able to access this data in real time.
CEOCFO: Why are they making information available? Mr. Cohen: The Department of Homeland Security wishes to protect eighteen areas of critical infrastructure, so not everybody will qualify for access. However, banks, telecoms and utility providers are critical infrastructure for the US and DHS wishes to protect those entities. Right now there is a tremendous threat and identity fraud is the number-one crime in the world – as well as the number one consumer complaint in the US. This is due to the fact that current techniques just simply do not work. It is easy for fraudsters to literally drive a bus right through the gaping holes which exist in today’s identity technologies. DHS realizes that and they want to shore that up and protect this infrastructure, so we cannot sell this to, for example a convenience store. But if you are a bank, telecom, electrical or nuclear provider - or a business in any other area of critical infrastructure - your business qualifies for access.
CEOCFO: Would you give us another example and is it easily accessible? Mr. Cohen: pictureID is the only 100% accurate identity proofing solution on earth. Whereas current solutions are roughly 60% or 70% accurate, pictureID is 100% accurate and since we provide a visual representation of the "real" owner of the identity, it actually eliminates all variants of identity fraud. We just competed at Finovate, which is a big FinTech Competition and in seven minutes we demonstrated how easy it was to take over the account of Jamie Dimon, chairman of JP Morgan Chase, using currently available identity verification techniques. After gathering some Personal Identifying Information (PII) to do real damage, a fraudster has to create a form of ID to prove they are their target. I used Mr. Dimon’s easily located PII and created a James Dimon driver’s license bearing my picture. From there I could open new credit lines or bank accounts and with Mr. Dimon’s wealth - you can imagine the damage that could occur. If a fraudster has done their homework, this scam works virtually every time using today’s solutions. pictureID stops this fraud in its tracks, every time, without fail. Gathering PII is easy, however, knowing the exact address used when a driver’s license was obtained is more difficult. Even more difficult is obtaining the exact height, weight, hair and eye color, etc., at the time the driver’s license was issued. In fact, without obtaining an actual copy of that license, I would say guessing the proper answer to those questions is practically impossible. Our solutions match all of this data – and if something does not match what is on file with the issuer of the license – we alert the user. If a fraudster was somehow able to obtain all of that information and present a driver’s license or passport that completely matched the document issuers records, pictureID still catches them since we also return the actual picture taken of the real owner of that identity when the document was issued. Therefore, the picture on the license presented by the fraudster will not match the picture on file with the issuer of that identity document. We stop all identity fraud assuming the transaction is face-to-face.
CEOCFO: What were some of the challenges in putting this all together and how were you able to either think of it or accomplish it when others have not? Mr. Cohen: This is the culmination of 12 years of effort. This is a project that was inspired back in 2001 and it is something that has taken countless meetings with the FBI, homeland security and various states. A number of different entities have been involved in this approval process. We did not patent the technology. That is patented by somebody else, but we are one of the few licensors which will be granted this access. As you can imagine, this was an onerous process, but I have worked with governmental agencies and the DMVs for years, so an onerous process was expected.
CEOCFO: You have a number of different solutions. What are the variations in what you are providing? Mr. Cohen: pictureID is the product we have discussed so far. The second solution that we have, catfishID, gives us the ability to verify identities of people worldwide. catfishID uses a document library containing samples of virtually every government issued ID throughout the globe. catfishID employs forensic technology that is able to, in an automated fashion, analyze an ID - whether it is a driver’s license or a passport - and determine whether it has been counterfeited, tampered with, or if it is truly authentic. catfishID provides comprehensive global identity proofing capabilities and pictureID provides the only 100% accurate identity proofing capabilities in the US and Canada.
CEOCFO: What is the rollout plan? Mr. Cohen: Initially we are working with leaders in specific vertical markets, such as telecom and finance. I cannot mention the company names, due to non-disclosure agreements, but we are currently working with one of the largest wireless telecoms in the country and one of the largest banks to learn more about what our product has - and does not have – to meet their needs.
CEOCFO: What challenges do you see in the roll-out and plan for adoption? Mr. Cohen: The value proposition offered by picture ID is overwhelming. It is 100% accurate versus 70% accurate and it is impenetrable to fraudsters since it returns a picture. Cost per transaction is 50% to 80% less than current solutions. It is very simple to use. We do not require special hardware or software. We use what everybody is accustomed to providing in the course of a transaction - a driver’s license or a passport. The value proposition is strong and everybody that we have shown the product to so far has been very impressed. Gaining traction in the market is not going to be a problem. We are simply going to be selective in who we initially partner with because we want to go slow and make sure that we are building everything that the market needs and wants into the product. We also want to make sure that our technology is completely scalable. We realize that the DHS infrastructure is scalable and it is the only network, that I am aware of, that has to be up by law 24/7/365 days a year. We are accessing the same criminal justice network that police officers access. We want to make sure that our database servers and application servers are able to scale and support 100 million transactions per day.
CEOCFO: Will you be seeking funding? Mr. Cohen: We will not be seeking funding in year one. I come from the background screening arena and helped develop that industry over the past couple decades and was fortunate enough to sell my business in 2007, so I am personally funding this venture
CEOCFO: What surprised you over the years as you have worked on developing this concept and product? Mr. Cohen: I am not sure anything has surprised me. I have been working with public records, big data and building infrastructure into the DMVs since the 80s. How all that works is something I am very familiar with – especially with my extensive background.
CEOCFO: Why should the business and investment community pay attention to AuthenticID?
Mr. Cohen:
Identity fraud is the biggest crime on earth and it is the number-one
consumer complaint for 12 years running in the US. It is a massive problem
that causes untold challenges for the consumers which are victims. Last year
alone there were 12.6 million victims. Some sources estimate identity fraud
losses at more than $200 billion annually. This is the only product that
stands a fighting chance of actually eliminating this crime. |
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“The value proposition offered by picture ID is overwhelming. It is 100% accurate versus 70% accurate and it is impenetrable to fraudsters since it returns a picture. Cost per transaction is 50% to 80% less than current solutions. It is very simple to use. We do not require special hardware or software. We use what everybody is accustomed to providing in the course of a transaction - a driver’s license or a passport. The value proposition is strong and everybody that we have shown the product to so far has been very impressed.”- Blair Cohen |
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