What is credential fraud?

Credential fraud is a false statement about a credential: a degree that was never earned, a job title or dates that were stretched, or a professional license that is invented, lapsed, or someone else's. In account security, the same phrase means stolen usernames and passwords, which is a separate problem. The first kind can surface when a detail someone gave you is compared with education, work history, or licensing board records and doesn't match.

What is credential verification?

Credential verification catches a false or misstated degree, work history, or professional license by comparing what a person claims with the records that hold it, such as education records or licensing board data. On Authenticate, each field gets its own result of verified or not verified, from degree title and dates to job title, license number, and end date, so you see which part of the claim didn't hold up.

What is the difference between identity verification and credential verification?

Identity verification catches impersonation by confirming a person is who they say they are, usually by matching a live selfie to a government ID. Credential verification catches false claims by checking whether the degree, work history, or license they mention matches the records. The two answer separate questions, so passing one tells you nothing about the other. On Authenticate, the identity check returns an authenticity score and a face match, and each credential check returns a result per field.

How do you spot a fake degree?

You spot a fake degree by checking the school, degree title, and dates listed against education records, rather than trusting the diploma or the accreditor printed on it. Even the accreditor can be invented. In settlements announced in January 2015, the FTC's complaint said the owners of two online high school diploma mills had fabricated an accrediting organization to give their operation legitimacy. Authenticate checks US college and university degrees across 15,000+ institutions and returns a result for each field.

How do you check if a professional license is fake?

You can catch an invented or lapsed professional license by checking it against the board that issued it, since many state licensing boards publish lookups. Authenticate covers 4,200+ license types in all US states and compares the license title, issuing organization, number, and start and end dates with licensing board data. Each field gets its own result, returned with the license's state. A license check can take some time to process, and results arrive through the API and your dashboard.

How do you spot fake or stretched work history?

You spot invented or stretched work history by checking the company, job title, and dates claimed against work history records, and Authenticate returns a separate result for each. Each check covers US work history and costs $5, and results from the records are instant. If the company name doesn't verify, manual verification can contact the company directly for $15, which takes longer and works only if your request turned it on. Any third-party fees are added to both prices.

Does liveness testing cover deepfakes?

Liveness testing under ISO/IEC 30107-3 covers presentation attacks, such as a printed photo, a phone display, or a mask held up to the camera. Authenticate's liveness detection is tested to iBeta Level 2 under that standard. A deepfake fed straight into the video stream is a different kind of attack, which presentation-attack testing doesn't measure.

What happens when a claim doesn't match the record?

When a credential detail doesn't match its records, Authenticate marks only that field as not verified, so you might see a license number that checked out next to an end date that didn't. A school or company the records can't match comes back the same way, with its name not verified, and manual verification can then contact it if you requested it. A not-verified field is a reason to look closer, and your team decides what it means.

Where does credential fraud show up?

Credential fraud is a risk on marketplaces and directories that list licensed professionals, telehealth and services platforms, and professional networks, because the people using them rely on credentials they can't check themselves. On those platforms a false claim can sit on a public profile, so a degree, work history, or license that comes back not verified becomes a flag for your trust and safety or fraud team to review.

Can Authenticate catch credential fraud outside the US?

Authenticate's credential checks cover the US only: degrees from US colleges and universities, US work history, and US professional licenses. A degree or license from another country needs another route, although the identity side works internationally. The ID check recognizes 16,000+ government IDs from 254 countries and territories and runs in 38 languages, so a borrowed identity abroad still has to match a live selfie to the ID photo.

How do you add credential fraud checks to your platform?

Authenticate offers three ways to add credential fraud checks to your platform: a REST API, a Web SDK, and the Medallion no-code link you send from your dashboard. A Medallion workflow can add education, work history, and professional license checks after its ID and selfie step, without anyone writing code. Results come back through the API and your dashboard, and webhooks tell your systems whether each Medallion identity attempt succeeded.

How much does credential verification cost?

Credential verification on Authenticate costs $5 per license, education, or work history check. If a $5 check against the records is inconclusive, manual verification is available for $15. Education, work history, and manual checks are each billed plus any third-party fees. The ID check costs $2 with Liveness & Face Match, and ReAuthenticate selfies after that first paid check are free. Every attempt is billed, whatever the result, and the $100 activation fee is credited toward checks.