New ID Product Uses Deeper Questions

A mother's maiden name may soon be obsolete as a way for online merchants to verify identities. VerifyID by StrikeForce Technologies is an identity verification product that requires consumers applying for accounts online to have a deeper level of information to ensure they are who they claim to be.

The product accesses public information to display a series of "out of wallet" questions that go far beyond what hackers normally steal to open a fraudulent account. The randomly selected questions, for example, might ask a potential account opener the name of the financial institution that first held that customer's mortgage, the make and model of his or her first car or a street address from ten years ago.

With less than a minute to answer each question, even users who've managed to hijack part of someone's identity are not likely to be able to answer the full round of questions.

Copyright © 2005 Bankers' Hotline. Originally appeared in Bankers' Hotline, Vol. 15, No. 9, 9/05