Minors’ exploitation due to their easy access is making headlines every day. Industries lacking accurate age verification checks are the most prone to these threats. This is because digitization is easing minor access to online platforms. Underage users fill in their elders’ information to bypass the verification process and make online purchases. Similarly, they easily solve the puzzles and captcha at the time of onboarding.
Therefore, industries need to employ authentic age verification solutions. The AI-powered tools verify customers by validating their documents, analyzing selfies, and detecting liveness. If minors are using fake information, the system will identify them by analyzing their background and real-time selfie. This blog covers working mechanism of the digital identity verification process and the risks that industries will face if they don’t verify age.
Online Age Verification – Working Mechanism
Minors’ bypassing the age verification process to illegitimately access online platforms increase their chances of falling prey to several consequences. For instance, inappropriate grouping, child trafficking, blackmailing, and other criminal threats. To prevent them, regulatory authorities are forcing strict age verification regulations like the UK’s Children Code.
As per the legal standards industries like tobacco, e-commerce, social media, and alcohol should verify age of their customers prior to their onboarding. Online solutions help these sectors to better safeguard their operations and restrict minors’ easy access to AO services but you should have a relible internet connection just like any Spectrum internet deals. Ultimately, they can also ensure KYCC compliance by deploying the following steps:
Submission of Information
In the first step, system presents an online form on screens of end-users and asks them to fill in their information. It includes full name, date of birth, and address.
Uploading Supporting Document
After submission of information, age verification systems ask end-users to upload supporting pieces of evidence. The documents include government-issued ID cards, passports, and driver’s licenses.
Data Extraction
The AI-powered age checks then extract required information by using OCR technology. The information includes name and date of birth for identification.
Verification and Results Display
After data extraction, age verification solutions run analysis scans on both documents and information. Moreover, it uses biometrics to detect liveness and ensure that customers are present at time of onboarding. The system then cross-verify details and displays results on screens of end-users.
Consequences Industries Face Due to Failure in Performing Age Checks
Getting the age verified is a regulatory obligation for every industry to protect minors from falling prey to online criminal threats. The AI-powered solutions here help industries accurately identify customers. This way they can ensure regulatory compliance while securing their overall reputation. The regulatory authorities are bringing in effective age verification standards to protect their greatest assets – minors. As per these, industries should not only identify registering customers but also verify existing ones.
To ensure industries stay compliant with the age verification regulations, authorities also impose hefty penalties. Furthermore, this does not end here, online platforms will further have to face the following consequences if they fail to accurately verify age of their customers.
Increase in Financial Loss
Industries like e-commerce are facing the most difficult situation in delivering products. This is because minors use fake information to place orders and are mostly returned when delivered. This causes e-commerce businesses to face hefty chargeback amounts. But accurate age verification solutions in place will prevent such instances from happening.
Similarly, parents also face financial loss because minors escaping the age verification online process are unaware of the consequences and fall prey to criminals. They then blackmail them and ultimately flee with large sums of money. On the contrary, age verification solutions help industries to minimize these risks and safeguard both minors as well as their parents from criminal risks.
High Risks of Reputational Damages
Shifting businesses’ operations online is not enough to enhance customers’ experience and uplift reputations. Ensuring compliance with the age verification regulations is also an add-on. Otherwise, platforms will face adverse damages to the brand’s image as well as credibility in case they lack efficient mechanisms. Therefore, online AO platforms require better online age verification solutions to ensure the safety of children.
Increased Chances of Non-Compliance Fines
Industries offering AO products and services are mandated to adhere to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) guidelines. This age verification standard mandates every industry regardless of what they offer to secure the data of customers. Similarly, authorities mandate e-businesses to verify customers during onboarding and also keep track of their activities. By incorporating age verification solutions, industries can prevent failure in compliance with regulatory standards.
In the End
Age verification solutions help industries to ensure compliance by accurately identifying customers. Minors use their elders’ credentials and payment details to dodge the verification process and onboard AO platforms. This helps them steer clear of the monitoring checks. However, this inefficiency of online platforms to identify underaged customers can bring them reputational damage as well as hefty fines. Therefore, industries require age verification online to protect minors and uphold their overall integrity.
James Martin is a passionate writer and the founder of OnTimeMagazines & EastLifePro. He loves to write principally about technology trends. He loves to share his opinion on what’s happening in tech around the world.
