NCJ Number
200310
Date Published
March 2002
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This paper examines potential solutions to identify fraud and discusses the use of a knowledge-based solution, authentication, for the beginning phase of the identity verification process, and it proposes creating a task force to determine the appropriate means of identification and identifies the factors that bear on the identification process.
Abstract
Identity fraud is defined as the broad criminal use of false identifiers and false identification documents. The criminal use of false identifiers and false identification documents is an integral part of many crimes committed by global criminal groups, including drug traffickers, gun runners, cyber criminals, and terrorists. This paper is the third in a series of papers on identity theft and understanding the national identity fraud problem. It proposes a solution to one important aspect of the identity fraud problem and a process for arriving at a solution for the balance of the problem. In the science of human identification, there are three basic means of identification: knowledge-based, biometrics, and tokens. Within the identity verification process, there is one important phase of which only a knowledge-based solution is viable and biometrics and tokens are not available. This phase is the beginning of the identity verification process when the individual is new to the verifier. This knowledge-based solution is called authentication and is based on the verifier possessing certain information pertaining to the individual, from which the verifier can confirm the identity of the individual. The knowledge-based solution has proven successful in commercial identification environments and can be applied in any identification environment, regardless of the presence of the individual, anywhere in the world. The solutions require the earnest efforts of all interested parties, through a task force under the sponsorship of the Federal Government. Appendix