“In Jordan, the apparel sector relies heavily on a large migrant workforce, many of whom lack access to bank accounts and remain unbanked. Wage payments have traditionally been cash-based…”
To facilitate cash payments to unbanked apparel workers in Jordan, IrisGuard stepped in with its EyePay product.
“Cairo Amman Bank (CAB) Jordan…has launched a national-scale biometric cash salary payment network for unbanked workers.
“With just a simple iris scan, employees can securely access their wages instantly, without the need for a bank account, PIN, or physical ID.”
I don’t think this is tied to an iris-based time and attendance system, but that is the obvious next step.
In reality, job applicant deepfake detection is (so far) unable to determine who the fraudster really is, but it can determine who the fraudster is NOT.
Something to remember when hiring people for sensitive positions. You don’t want to unknowingly hire a North Korean spy.
I’ve written about the fake recruiters who InMail you about a great position with their company. I shut up the fakes by requesting their corporate email address at their supposed employer. But what if LinkedIn could catch them BEFORE they ever sent that InMail to me?
“LinkedIn is looking to take on scammers who falsely present themselves as recruiters or company representatives in the app, with an expansion of its company verification option, while it’s also making workplace verification required when a member adds or updates a leadership or recruiter-related role.”
From HR Dive.
Of course, the proposed Know Your Recruiter system isn’t foolproof; nothing is. Scammers can avoid the LinkedIn verification step by simply NOT choosing a leadership or recruiter-related job title.
Imagen 4.
And as much as people like me wish that people would care about verified identities…many don’t.
If “Jones Jay” from Microsoft sends jobseekers an InMail about a wonderful position,
some will blindly respond without even looking at Jones Jay’s LinkedIn profile at all,
much less checking whether his identity and employer are verified.
But at least the attempt demonstrates that LinkedIn cares more about their real users than about the scammers who pay for Premium.
“I am currently working as a Temporary Recruiting Assistant, assisting the company in finding a suitable candidate to fill an open position.
“After reading your background information, I believe that you have the experience and abilities that are highly qualified for this position.
“If you are interested in this opportunity, you are more than welcome to get back to me and I will be happy to provide you with more information about the position.
“Thank you for your time and look forward to your reply!
“Amanda Rodriguez
Temporary Recruitment Assistant | Administrative Support in Talent Acquisition”
I don’t know Spencer Stuart but they presumably wouldn’t hire a clown like this, even in a temporary capacity.
Here’s my reply, but the account disappeared before I could send it.
“If you are truly targeting anti-fraud identity verification product marketing professionals, your pitch itself sounds like it was written by a scammer fraudster. Even in his current condition, Kevin Mitnick wouldn’t fall for this scam.”
When a company announces its intent to buy another company, certain activities at both firms may be stalled.
This can be a good thing, as certain Motorola employees and IDEMIA lawyers know.
Motorola layoffs on hold
In late 2008 and early 2009 Motorola was in trouble—so much trouble that it would eventually bifurcate. (Heh.) So Motorola was laying off employees throughout the company…
…except in the Biometric Business Unit where I resided. Safran had announced its intent purchase that unit, and Motorola was obligated to deliver that unit to Safran intact.
So I kept my job…for another 12 years anyway.
IDEMIA lawsuit on hold
Anyway, Motorola’s Biometric Business Unit became part of Safran and then IDEMIA. And according to ID Tech, IDEMIA is the beneficiary of new acquisition activity.
“A legal dispute between South African Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) firm INFOVERGE and French multinational IDEMIA has stalled, with INFOVERGE citing ongoing acquisition activity involving IDEMIA’s South African subsidiary as the reason for the delay. The firm is seeking R39 million in damages over what it describes as a breach of contractual obligations by IDEMIA.
“INFOVERGE told reporters that it had been informed IDEMIA’s South African division is undergoing a corporate transaction, which has effectively paused the litigation process. ‘We’ve been told that the South African arm of IDEMIA is under acquisition … which leaves our legal matter in some kind of limbo as we wait,’ an INFOVERGE spokesperson said, adding that the prolonged delay is impacting their ability to fulfill their empowerment mandate.”
People can use forged government identities to scare you, rob you, or kill you. How can you protect yourself from fake law enforcement officers, or fake ICE agents? And how can police agencies and ICE protect THEMSELVES from these fakes?
I’ve already shared the story of the person driving around Delaware with flashing lights. Nothing terrible happened in that encounter, but similar impersonation encounters have been more critical.
The visitor, wearing an American flag-adorned baseball cap and a tactical vest with the words “Security Enforcement Agent,” announced the single word “Immigration,” implying that he was from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Several employees fled the scene, but the cashier did not and was immediately zip-tied.
So what happened next?
The so-called ICE agent took $1,000 and was gone 30 seconds later.
Vance Boelter is alleged to have shot Minnesota State Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette at their home, then shot and killed State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband.
In both cases Boelter presented himself as a police officer.
“[C]all 911 from your cell phone. Tell the 911 dispatcher that you are concerned that someone…may not be a police officer.”
Of course a person in a car is generally safer than a person at the front door of a home or business, but in any case you can call 911 and ask for confirmation.
“Do not flee.”
This appears to be sound advice if the person is a real police officer. But if the employees hadn’t fled from the fake ICE officer in Philadelphia, perhaps they would have been robbed also.
“If the dispatcher cannot confirm that you are being [visited] by a police officer, stay on the line with the dispatcher, and ask for police assistance.”
Wise to get the real cops on the scene.
“Do not provide personal documents – driver’s license, insurance information or other documents – to someone who you suspect of being a police impersonator.”
No need to add identity fraud on top of everything else.
How do you know if it IS ICE?
Unfortunately, telling true ICE agents from fake ones is a little more difficult. Your local 911 dispatcher isn’t going to know if that’s a real ICE agent at your door.
5NBCDFW published some tips for those who receive an email, call, or visit from ICE. In regards to personal visits, the station offered this advice:
“ICE agents carry official badges and credentials. They may have identification cards with their name, photo and the department logo. You can ask them to show you their badge or ID.”
“If they refuse to show their identification, you are under no obligation to open the door.”
This of course is not foolproof, since anyone can print a fake business card (perhaps on their own printer, avoiding a commercial business such as the UPS Store), create a fake ID, or create a fake badge.
Challenges of identifying police officers or ICE agents
It’s a challenging identity problem. Especially since police officers may NOT be required to identify themselves. Uniformed officers are required to identify themselves in California (California Penal Code Section 830.10), but plainclothes officers obviously don’t wear badges, and California identification laws don’t apply in other states.
“Hey,” someone suggests. “Why not create a database of all the police officers and ICE agents so that can immediately prove their authenticity?” Unfortunately, that runs into a huge privacy problem, because what happens when (not if) that database is hacked? Or if the data is intentionally leaked?
(And before you say “not my problem, those people need to be in a database,” what if it WAS your problem? In my case, what if all marketing/writing sole proprietors were required to be in a database managed by the Department of Commerce? You’d be worried if it affected YOU.)
The only way that this will change universally is when the police officers, ICE, and other agencies have to deal with impersonators. For example, if fake ICE agents cause problems for the real ones, then ICE itself will insist on positive identification of real ICE agents.
Bredemarket 