Fighting document and identity fraud: what to do?

Globe icon

What solutions for the fight against document and identity fraud?

With the digitalisation of many practices in companies, the fight against document and identity fraud must be at the heart of questions in order to find concrete solutions to this type of problem. So what is document and identity fraud? What impact does it have on a company? How can we set up a system to combat document and identity fraud? Answers!


What is document fraud?

Document fraud is becoming more and more widespread and is a real scourge for companies in many sectors such as banking, insurance, real estate and many others. Different types of fraud can be distinguished, such as the reproduction of identity documents, the falsification of documents, the theft of documents, the forgery of documents and identity theft. All these practices allow the forger to serve his own interests to the detriment of the company and its customers.

Document fraud can affect many different departments within a company, such as the accounting and finance department, suppliers, the IT department and others. In most cases, the aim is to obtain information or mislead staff in order to recover funds belonging to the company. Depending on the type of fraud, the mechanisms used may be more or less sophisticated, making some types of fraud more difficult to detect than others.

The fight against document and identity fraud is therefore at the heart of many of the battles fought by companies. And for good reason: in 2019, more than 70% of companies were victims of attempted document fraud. An exorbitant figure that proves that the fight against document and identity fraud is far from anecdotal and a necessity. Companies wishing to limit the risk and protect both their staff and their customers can implement a real action plan to protect themselves from document fraud in the most effective way possible to avoid its sometimes very unfortunate consequences.


What are the consequences for companies?

The need to combat document and identity fraud is so important to a company because it can have a lot to lose and it must also guarantee a certain level of security to its customers. Above all, it is financial losses that are to be feared. In 2020, 12% of French companies had to face a loss of more than one million dollars due to various fraud schemes. The company's cash flow can therefore be really impacted without a device to fight against document and identity fraud.

Data theft is also a crucial issue in document fraud. Fraudsters will tend to steal some of the data they need to achieve their goals, and in particular to damage the company. This can be compromising information that directly concerns the company, but also confidential information related to its customers. A company that fails to protect its customer data properly will see its image greatly impacted by this type of theft. 

The psychological impact is not to be neglected either, since some employees will sometimes be closely concerned by the fraud process, especially when it is internal. Each person can thus experience a more or less important impact according to what they have experienced.

Finally, as mentioned above, the image of the company and its reputation can be truly tainted by a document fraud at various levels. It is then a whole communication work that must be carried out as soon as possible to face the damages and to restore the confidence of its customers.


What is the mechanism for to combat document and identity fraud?

There are various anti-document and identity fraud measures that can be put in place in companies to prevent the risks in the right way. 

Authenticate documents with an adapted tool

Document authentication is one of the best ways to fight against document and identity fraud. Indeed, with an adapted tool in this sense like the one proposed by Archipels, the company has the possibility to differentiate an original document from a counterfeit copy for example. This will provide an additional guarantee to both its employees and its customers. The reliability acquired in the processing of documents is thus a real tool in the fight against document and identity fraud.

Training and awareness-raising of teams

Training and awareness-raising of teams is also an integral part of the work to combat document and identity fraud. Indeed, teams that are able to fight document fraud are above all informed teams. Explaining the level of risk, but also the methods for detecting attempted fraud by providing concrete tools will enable the implementation of an effective prevention system. Teams can therefore be regularly trained in good day-to-day practices and in the alert process in the event of suspected fraud.

Establish rigorous checkpoints

Once again, prevention is the best way to combat fraud. Depending on the processes in place, identifying potential weaknesses will make it possible to add control points or review certain methodologies. To do this, it is sometimes necessary to review an entire operation. This stage may require time and many adjustments, but nothing beats a well-functioning process that has been tested in every possible way to avoid errors and fraud. One should also not hesitate to call on the expertise of its various collaborators, particularly those in the field, to get their opinion and to have all the information resources necessary to secure a procedure.


Find out more about Archipels decentralized identity solutions :
I want to be recontacted

NOs 6 Latest blog posts