Sound The Trumpet : Vein Biometrics to Combat Bank Fraud

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“Vein Biometrics to Combat Bank Fraud”
by Prophecy New Watch
September 24th, 2014

Are you really who you say you are, and are you authorized to be making this transaction? To answer these questions, organizations looking to manage fraud and identity theft have long relied on identification documents that have been highly vulnerable to tampering and impersonation attempts. PINS and passwords too can easily be stolen or compromised when customers are careless or vulnerable.

No wonder then, that identification methods relying on photo and signature comparisons are fast giving way to biometric options that are virtually foolproof in terms of preventing identity theft. Your fingers, veins, voice, eyes and facial features are becoming some of latest ways in which banks and other institutions are starting to positively identify its customers.

In one such recent development, Reuters.com recently reported that a leading British Bank, Barclays is launching a finger scanner for corporate clients and will roll out voice recognition for millions of retail clients next year as it steps up use of biometric recognition technology to combat banking fraud. The bank launched voice recognition biometrics for private banking clients last year, and has now teamed up with Japanese technology firm Hitachi to develop a biometric reader that scans a finger and identifies unique vein patterns to access accounts, instead of using a password or PIN.

Barclays is reportedly the first bank globally to use it for significant account transactions, and intends to provide safer verification systems that cut fraud risks from customers sharing or choosing obvious passwords, or forgetting PINs. And the motivation for these initiatives is quite compelling in the face of increasing fraudster sophistication: Britain's private companies reportedly lost 21 billion pounds ($34.5 billion) from fraud in 2012 and financial firms suffered 5.4 billion pounds of that, according to National Fraud Authority estimates.

Barclays further stated that its vein authentication technology will be rolled out to corporate customers next year and it expects strong take-up from its 30,000 large corporate clients. Ashok Vaswani, chief executive of Barclay’s personal and corporate banking, was quoted by Reuters to have stated that "Biometrics is the way to go in the future. We have no doubt about that, we are committed to it…you can't let these guys (criminals) create a breach in the dam. You've got to constantly stay ahead of the game."

The finger scanner sits on the customer's desk and plugs into a computer. The vein pattern is matched with one stored on a SIM card, so Barclays does not hold a record. The scanned finger has to be attached to a live human body to work. Other biometric opportunities could include using similar technology on mobile tablets, which is the fastest growing area for European banks, or at ATMs.

Other banks and financial institutions are also likely to follow suit. Royal Bank of Scotland and other UK banks have reportedly suffered serious attacks by hackers in the last two years and are trying to strengthen their defenses in all areas of vulnerability.

A testament to the power and efficacy of vein biometrics can also be seen in its adoption by Robocoin, a company specializing in Bitcoin and cash dispensing kiosks. A recent report published in findbiometrics.com reported that Robocoin ATMs require three factors of authentication – phone, PIN and palm vein – that, once submitted, allow for automated 24 hour service to Bitcoin accounts and cash withdrawal needs. In choosing palm vein authentication, Robocoin has picked a notoriously difficult to spoof biometric modality. Fujitsu’s PalmSecure biometric sensors capture palm vein images using near-infrared light.

Additionally, because palm vein patterns are subdermal features (like all types of vascular biometrics) forgery is near impossible. The process is contactless, allowing for nuanced deployment – nixing (eliminating) hygiene concerns and germ-averse cultural barriers.

Other non-banking and financial institutions are also increasingly adopting vein biometrics and similar biometric options for positive identification. PatientSecure.com describes itself as “the nation’s most adopted Biometric Patient Identification Management System” and “links the biometric information of the patient to their medical record” in healthcare systems specified. Patient Secure describes why vein biometrics are so effective: “Blood veins are formed during the first eight weeks of gestation in a chaotic manner, influenced by environment in a mother’s womb. This is why vein pattern is unique to each individual, even to twins. Veins grow with a person’s skeleton, and while capillary structures continue to grow and change, vascular patterns are set at birth and do not change over the course of one’s lifetime...An individual’s scanned palm vein data (biometric template) is encrypted for protection and registered along with the other details in his/her profile as a reference for future comparison.”

Where are all these trends leading to? The RightSideNews.com aptly summarizes: “Are you ready to have your veins scanned every time you use your bank account? Are you ready to use a "digital tattoo" or a microchip implant to unlock your telephone? Once upon a time we read about such technologies in science fiction novels, but now they are here. The era of widespread biometric identification and microchip implants is upon us, and it is going to change the way that we live…Proponents of these new technologies say that they will make our private information and our bank accounts much more secure. But there are others that warn that these kinds of "Big Brother technologies" will set the stage for even more government intrusion into our lives. In the wrong hands, such technologies could prove to be an absolute nightmare.”

Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13