Can Fake IDs Fool Scanners? A Closer Look at Identity Verification in Survey Research

In today’s digital world, verifying that someone is who they claim to be has become more complicated than ever. This is true, certainly, in the world of online survey research, where fake respondents can distort data quality, drain incentives, and erode client trust. While most online survey panels do not even bother to check panelist IDs, some, like Survey Diem, do. The problem is that technology is making it possible to generate increasingly sophisticated fake identity documents. So how effective are these fakes, and can barcode scanners actually catch them?

How Fake IDs Work (and Why They’re a Problem)

Fake IDs have come a long way from the clumsy fakes of the early 2000s. Today, high-quality counterfeits often include barcodes, holograms, and state-specific visual elements. For market research, the threat isn’t underage drinkers — it’s fraudsters creating duplicate accounts or misrepresenting themselves to qualify for high-paying studies.

A typical U.S. driver’s license includes a PDF417 barcode on the back, which encodes information like name, date of birth, license number, issuing state, and expiration date. Good fakes can mimic the look of this data, but replicating the precise structure and logic of a state’s barcode encoding is much harder.

Moreover, fake ID production has scaled with access to breached personal data. Many forgeries now use legitimate names and addresses pulled from public or leaked databases. That means the fake ID may “look” valid and even match a real person — but it’s still fraud.

Do Scanners Catch Fake IDs?

The effectiveness of ID scanners varies widely depending on the technology being used.

• Basic scanners, like the ones used in bars or gas stations, often just read the barcode and display the encoded info. These are easy to fool if the barcode is syntactically correct.
• More advanced systems, like those used by law enforcement or financial institutions, analyze barcode structure, cross-check issuing state formats, and may even reference external databases.

At Survey Diem, we use Intellicheck, a leading ID authentication platform, to scan and validate IDs during panelist onboarding. Intellicheck is designed to detect fake ID patterns by analyzing barcode structure in real-time, identifying over 250 unique document formats used across North America (Greenway Solutions Report, 2023).

According to a third-party test by Greenway Solutions, Intellicheck correctly flagged 20 out of 20 fake driver’s licenses used in a red team test, outperforming both manual inspection and alternative document verification tools. The fakes used in the test were high quality and would likely pass most physical inspection methods, including bend tests and UV light. Intellicheck caught all of them using barcode scanning alone.

This level of accuracy — 100% in this test — is impressive, but it’s still important to note that no system can guarantee perfect results. Fraudsters are always adapting.

What About Real-Time State Verification?

An option that provides a high level of confidence is the Driver License Data Verification (DLDV) service offered by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA). This system allows authorized organizations to verify the attributes on a driver’s license against official state records in real time. The result is a simple true/false response confirming whether the document data matches what the issuing authority has on file (AAMVA DLDV Overview).

While DLDV is used in government and some commercial settings, it comes with strict access requirements and doesn’t verify document authenticity or provide photo verification. More importantly, DLDV is ineffective in catching a fake license created using real data from a data breach. If a fraudster has access to accurate personal data — name, DOB, address, license number — a fake ID with those attributes may pass DLDV checks, even if the document itself is completely counterfeit.

This risk is especially relevant today, as massive data breaches continue to expose real identity information. In 2024 alone, the Change Healthcare ransomware attack affected over 100 million individuals, a breach at National Public Data exposed 2.9 billion records, and a Dell breach impacted 49 million customers.

What About Biometrics and Facial Matching?

Some platforms like CLEAR Verified or Veriff offer biometric-based identity verification, using selfie videos and liveness detection to match users to their ID photos. This technology is incredibly useful for stopping fraud based on borrowed or stolen IDs.

CLEAR, for example, allows users to create a reusable digital identity that can be verified across platforms. This can help confirm not just that an ID is real, but that the person holding it actually matches the face on the card. However, these solutions also require more user participation, device access, and often introduce friction into the sign-up process.

We’ve seen that fraudsters often abandon onboarding when faced with a selfie or liveness check — a promising indicator of fraud deterrence. Still, this friction also risks deterring legitimate users, especially in lower-risk studies.

For now, Survey Diem has chosen to focus on seamless but secure onboarding, and biometric solutions aren’t yet part of our workflow. But we're actively exploring options that balance security with user experience.

The Role of Device and Network Intelligence

Beyond ID scanning, another key line of defense is looking at how someone is connecting. Survey Diem blocks the use of VPNs, proxies, and anonymizing tools. We also use device fingerprinting to detect when the same machine is being used to submit multiple responses, even if the identity changes.

We also monitor behavior over time. Repeated inconsistencies in location, response patterns, or device use can flag accounts for review or removal.

Why We’re Exploring Address Validation

Another tool we're currently investigating is address validation. The idea here is simple: cross-check the address submitted by a panelist with national databases to ensure it's real and deliverable. Some providers even offer tools that link names and addresses to public records, or flag high-risk address types like mail drops or commercial forwarding services.

However, validation has its limits — especially in a post-data breach era. When real addresses tied to real people are available on the black market, validation checks alone can't guarantee the person submitting the address actually lives there. In reality, the only way to fully verify an address is to send physical mail to it and confirm that the recipient responds or takes a specific action.

Physical mail verification increases onboarding costs by at least 10% — a meaningful margin in large-scale operations. While not always scalable, it may be worthwhile for high-value respondents or incentive distribution.

Can Anyone Catch 100% of Fake IDs?

In theory? Maybe. In practice? Probably not.

One emerging concept is layered trust scoring — where different verification methods contribute to a composite risk profile. A panelist might not need a selfie if their ID passes a rigorous barcode scan, their IP is residential and consistent, their device is clean, and their address checks out. But if one of those layers fails, we can escalate to a higher-friction step.

This mirrors the approach used in financial fraud prevention — and it may be where the research industry is headed.

Where Survey Diem Stands

We’re proud of the identity verification systems we have in place today. Tools like Intellicheck give us a strong foundation.

But we’re not done. As fraudsters evolve, so must we.

While we may never eliminate fraud completely in online surveys, we will always strive to — and continue to make investments toward that goal.

The future of research depends on knowing who you’re really talking to. And at Survey Diem, we take that responsibility seriously.

Want to learn more about how we’re fighting fraud? Get in touch with us here.