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Jul 23, 2022 · Where Does Identity Come From? Fifty years of psychology offers insights into our self-concepts. Posted July 23, 2022 | Reviewed by Vanessa Lancaster. Key points. Comparisons with others and...
- What is identity
- When to check someone’s identity
- Why you should check someone’s identity
- How to check someone’s identity
- Levels of confidence
- Authoritative sources
- Get evidence of the claimed identity
- Why you should not accept a National Insurance number as proof of identity
- Check the evidence is genuine or valid
An identity is a combination of ‘attributes’ (characteristics) that belong to a person.
A single attribute is not usually enough to tell one person apart from another, but a combination of attributes might be.
You should check someone’s identity if any services you or your organisation has will:
•show a user personal information about themselves, such as their driving licence or passport details
The number of identities being used to commit identity fraud in the UK is growing every year. Some of the most common reasons people or criminal groups commit identity fraud are to:
•access services they’re not entitled to
•get benefits they’re not entitled to
•steal personal, medical or financial information from other identities
•enable organised crime, like human trafficking
•avoid being detected by the police and other authorities
You’ll need to know the ‘claimed identity’ of the person you’re checking. A claimed identity is a combination of information (often a name, date of birth and address) that represents the attributes of whoever a person is claiming to be.
When you have this information, you can find out if the person is who they say they are. This process is known as ‘identity checking’ and is made up of 5 parts:
•get evidence of the claimed identity
•check the evidence is genuine or valid
•check the claimed identity has existed over time
•check if the claimed identity is at high risk of identity fraud
There are 4 different levels of confidence:
•low confidence
•medium confidence
•high confidence
•very high confidence
By reaching a level of confidence:
You might need to check things with an ‘authoritative’ source. To be authoritative for a particular piece of information, the source must make sure:
•the integrity of the information is protected
•the information is up to date
The source must also do one of the following:
•issue evidence, for example the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) issues evidence such as driving licences
•get information from an organisation that issues evidence, for example credit reference agencies can have authoritative information about bank accounts
You can collect:
•physical evidence of the claimed identity (such as an identity document, like a passport)
•digital evidence of the claimed identity (such as information from a personal data store)
You can ask the user to provide the evidence or you can find it yourself, for example by checking a database. If you want to find the evidence yourself, you will need enough information about the claimed identity to be able to match it to their records.
This will prove that the identity exists, but it does not prove that it belongs to the person who’s claiming it. You must do a verification check to find that out.
You can also accept and score a declaration from someone that knows the claimed identity (known as a ‘vouch’) as evidence.
A National Insurance number is not evidence of the claimed identity. It is a reference number that can be used to match a record that relates to a claimed identity. It should not be accepted or used as proof of someone’s identity because:
•a National Insurance number is not private and users share their National Insurance number for legitimate reasons, such as with their employer, pension provider or landlord
•users cannot control what happens to their National Insurance number after it’s been shared and there are limited checks that bind the number to the claimed identity
•some users get a National Insurance number automatically just before they turn 16 without needing to prove their identity first
•there is a known use of National Insurance numbers as part of identity theft and fraud
If your organisation currently accepts National Insurance numbers as proof of someone’s identity, for example as part of an older system or process, you should:
If you want to prove someone’s identity using information that’s based on physical evidence, you must check it’s genuine. This means that the evidence is unlikely to be forged or counterfeit.
Example You could use a PASS card to prove the name and date of birth of the claimed identity. You will need to check the physical security features on the PASS card to do this.
If you’re using digital evidence, you must check the cryptographic security features instead.
Example You could use information from a personal data store to prove the address of a claimed identity. You will need to check that the information is protected by cryptographic security features that can tell you who created the information. You must also check that the information has not been tampered with.
You can also check if the evidence:
•is valid (this means you can find records that show the evidence has been issued)
Jan 8, 2015 · How our names shape our identity. What's in a name? A lot. (Image credit: Screen shot) By Michael Hedrick. last updated 8 January 2015. Sometimes we try to live up to our names. Sometimes we...
Jul 27, 2023 · Identity is a multifaceted concept that goes beyond a process of categorisation. Our true identities are shaped by a variety of factors including our character traits, willingness to grow,...
- Kain Ramsay
May 30, 2023 · In this article, we explore the concept of identity, its importance, factors that contribute to its development, and some strategies that can help you reflect upon your identity.
Researchers have historically distinguished between two types of identity: personal and social. Personal identity refers to those features of the self that distinguish us from others while social identity refers to features of the self that are a source of commonality with others, such as group memberships.
People also ask
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What is identity? Discover the definition of identity, understand how it differs from personality and character, and learn about its types.
