What is identity verification (identity resolution)?
Confirming whether a screening match is actually the same person, by comparing secondary identifiers — not just the name.
Plain-English Summary
Why This Matters
Most screening alerts are name-similarity hits, and many are different people. Identity verification is what turns a raw match into a defensible decision: it separates a true match (escalate or block) from a false positive (clear with a recorded reason). Getting it wrong in either direction is costly — clearing a true match can be a violation, while blocking the wrong person on a name alone is an operational and fairness problem.
Visual Guide
- 1Name match
Fuzzy hit on a list
- 2Compare identifiers
DOB, nationality, address
- 3Same person?
Align / differ / unknown
- 4Disposition
Clear, or escalate if unsure
Missing identifiers are uncertainty, not a clearance. A matching name alone never settles it.
Explanation Depth
Concept Explanation
When the system flags a name, the next job is to figure out: is this actually the person on the government list, or just someone with a similar name? You do that by checking other details — birthdate, country, address — side by side. If those clearly do not match, it is a false alarm and you clear it (writing down why). If they do match, or you are missing the details you would need to tell them apart, you do not clear it — you escalate. A matching name by itself never settles it.When You'll See This in SecurePoint
In SecurePoint, identity details surface in the Adjudication Queue alongside the match. Reviewers compare identifiers, then record a disposition (clear as false positive, or escalate) with a justification written to the audit trail. The match-confidence score prioritizes which cases to resolve first; it does not resolve identity on its own.
What You Should Do Next
Open the flagged match and line up the visitor or counterparty against the listed party on secondary identifiers: date of birth, nationality, address, and full name. If they clearly differ, document the specific mismatch and clear it as a false positive. If they align — or key details are missing — treat the uncertainty as a reason to escalate, not to clear. Missing data is uncertainty, not a pass.
What Can Go Wrong
Sources & References
Related Terms
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