How do I use Identity Verification?

Identity Score Check

If a lead has been determined by Foundation in the screening form eligibility as “Eligible”, then they will automatically be checked for their Identity Score for accuracy based on the personal information entered in their screening form.

Types of personal information:

First name, last name, email address, phone number (required)
City, state, and IP address (optional)

View Results

To view the Identity Score Check results, you can quickly see in the column on the leads for “Identity Score”.
1. Yellow scores will be the leads who are under the threshold
2. Green scores will be the leads who are at or above the threshold

To see more information about this Identity Score, select Action > View Details > ID Verification Results tab.
The PII Identity Score section:
1. Phone Number Valid: Checks if the phone number provided is real. An incorrect or missing phone number will lower the Identity Score.
2. Phone Number Match: Checks if the phone number provided matches the name provided. If the name and phone number don't match, the Identity Score will be affected.
3. Email Valid: Checks if the email provided is real and uses a known email domain. An incorrect or missing email will affect the Identity Score.
4. Email Match: Checks if the name associated with the email provided matches the name provided. If the email and name don't match, the Identity Score will be affected.
5. IP Valid: Checks if the IP address from the user's device is real and from a public network. Private network IPs are seen as risky and affect the Identity Score.
6. Phone Carrier: This is the phone carrier of the phone number that was submitted on the screening form. If an unusual phone carrier is showing, it could potentially be risky.
7. Phone last seen (days): This is the last time the phone number that was submitted on the screening form was seen in a database. Generally, a lower number of days shows this phone number is actively being used.
8. Email domain creation date: This is when the email domain was created. (Ex. @gmail.com, @yahoo.com) Not when the specific email address was created.
9. Email first seen (days): This is the first time the email address that was submitted on the screening form was seen in a database. Generally, an older, more established email address is considered more reliable than a brand-new one.
10. Anonymous (using VPN): Leads who are using VPNs may be using them for personal/work privacy reasons, but they could be using them to set themselves in a location that they currently are not at. This is captured at the time of filling out the screening form. Values will be Yes/No if they are using a VPN.
11. Distance between Screening form City, State, and IP Address: The distance from the values entered in the City, State, and the IP address at the time of filling out the screening form. Some leads may be traveling or have recently moved. Please confirm the location information with this individual.

FAQ- What is the Identity Score, and how to understand your results

What is Identity Score Check?

Identity Score Check is a tool that helps evaluate whether the information a person submits—such as their name, email, phone number, and address—appears to be consistent with available public and third-party data sources.

It provides a confidence signal, not a definitive decision about someone’s identity.

Identity Score Check helps assess how well submitted information matches available data.

A lower score does not mean someone is not real—it means there isn’t enough data to confidently confirm the match.

What is the Identity Score?

The Identity Score is a number between 0 and 100 that represents how strongly the submitted information aligns with available data.

Higher scores indicate stronger data support
Lower scores indicate limited or missing data support

A higher score generally means there is more information available that supports the identity details provided.

What the Identity Score does not mean

A low score does not mean the person is fake, fraudulent, or dishonest
A low score does not automatically disqualify someone
The score does not confirm identity on its own

A lower score simply means there isn’t enough available data to confidently confirm the match.

Why might a real person receive a lower score?

Many legitimate people receive lower scores for everyday reasons, including:

A recent name change (for example, married vs. maiden name)
Use of a nickname instead of a legal name
A new or rarely used email address
Phone number changes or limited phone history
A recent move or limited address history
Submitting partial information, such as not providing a full address

These situations are common and do not indicate an issue with the individual.

How the score is determined (high level)

The Identity Score looks at two types of information:

Data Validity

Checks whether the information provided appears to be real, such as:

A valid email address
A valid phone number
A valid address

Data Consistency

Checks whether the information appears to align with the person’s name, such as:

Name matching the email
Name matching the phone number
Name matching the address

When more of these signals align, the score is typically higher.

Understanding the Threshold

The threshold represents a confidence guideline, not a strict pass or fail.

Scores above the threshold indicate stronger confidence
Scores below the threshold indicate lower confidence due to limited data

Different organizations may choose different thresholds depending on their needs and comfort level.

Best practices for individuals submitting information

To help ensure the most accurate results:

Use your legal name exactly as it appears on your government ID
Provide your current address when requested
Use an email and phone number you have used consistently over time, if possible

How Identity Score Check should be used

Identity Score Check is best used as one part of a broader verification process.

It is commonly used to:

Identify higher-confidence submissions
Flag cases that may need additional review
Support decisions alongside other verification steps

It should not be used as the sole reason to exclude someone.

Photo ID/Biometrics *if applicable to study workflow

Automatic Invitations

When a lead has passed the Identity Score Check threshold, they will automatically be sent an invitation via SMS or email to complete the next step to verify their identity. Invitations are valid for 15 days.

Manual Invitations

If a lead did not pass the Identity Score Check threshold, you may review their screening form answers and identity score results. If you wish to move forward with this lead, you may manually send an invitation to complete the next step to verify their identity.

Resend Invitations

To resend invitations for the Photo ID/Biometrics verification step, click the Resend invite button. You may need to resend invitations if:

The lead says that they did not receive or lose an invitation in their inbox/text messages.
The invite has expired (over 15 days old), and the lead is still interested and would like to continue.
The phone number or email address cannot be reached and was marked as “Failed to Deliver”. *Please update their phone number or email address in the screening form edit response before re-sending.

Example Invitation

If sent via SMS, the message will appear similar to the example below.

If sent via email, the message will appear similar to the example below.

If you open the invitation via email on a desktop, you will see a screen similar to the example below. It is suggested to complete the Photo ID/Biometrics verification on your mobile device. The lead can scan the QR code to complete on their mobile device or send the link via SMS to themselves.

View Photo ID/Biometrics Results

To view the Photo ID/Biometrics results, you can quickly see in the column on the leads for “Photo ID Verify” and can see the status of this verification.
1. Not Sent - Invite has not been sent to this lead. This may be due to not being eligible based on their screening form answers or not passing the Identity Score check. If you'd like to manually invite them, please click Send Invite.
2. Expired - Photo ID verification invitations expire after 15 days. If you'd like to send a new invite, please click Resend Invite
3. Delivered - Photo ID verification invitation has been delivered to the lead to complete the verification step.
4. Failed to Deliver - Photo ID verification invitation could not be delivered due to the phone number or email address could not be reached. Try sending again, or confirm if the contact information is a valid phone number or email address.
5. Approved - Photo ID/Biometrics verification has been completed, and identity has been approved.
6. Approved with Warnings- Photo ID/Biometrics verification has been completed, and the identity needs to be reviewed. Please view the results for more information.
7. Rejected - Photo ID/Biometrics verification has been completed, and the identity has been rejected. Please view the results for more information.
To see more information about this Photo ID Verification, select Action > View Details > ID Verification Results tab > Photo ID/Biometrics.
The Photo ID/Biometrics section:
1. Invitation Information - View information about the invitation/verification status for this lead, the date/time of when the lead submitted their verification, and the history of invite(s) sent to the lead.
2. Valid ID - Determination of the validity of the ID based on proprietary fraud analyses. An invalid ID will result in a visual identity verification rejection.
3. Expiration Date - The Expiration Date check will be approved if the ID has not expired. If the ID has expired, it will result in a warning. If grayed out, a valid expiration date could not be read from the ID, or the ID does not contain an expiration date.
4. Valid Selfie - Selfie photo is determined to be a real person. If determined not to be a real person, this will result in a visual identity verification rejection.
5. ID matches Selfie - Selfie photo matches the primary face photo on ID. A mismatch will result in a visual identity verification rejection.
6. ID matches Barcode - Data scanned from the Barcode matches data extracted from the front of the ID. A mismatch will result in a visual identity verification rejection. If grayed out, the submitted document is not expected to have a barcode, or a barcode wasn't captured.
7. ID matched Submitted Name - First and Last name provided matches the first and last name extracted/scanned from ID. A mismatch will result in a visual identity verification rejection.
8. Barcode Presence - Indicates if a barcode is recognized on the submitted document. If recognized, this will be approved; if not, this will be a warning. If grayed out, the submitted document is not expected to have a barcode.
9. Selfie Liveness Performed - Indicates if a Selfie Liveness check was performed by the user. Note - If Selfie Liveness was performed but failed to recognize a live selfie, this will be approved, while a Valid Selfie will be rejected.
10. Extracted Name from Photo ID - The extracted First, Middle, and Last Name from the Photo ID that was scanned. Please review if the ID matched the Submitted Name is a mismatch. Leads may have used a name that is not on their legal government-issued ID.
11. Anonymous (using VPN) - Leads who are using VPNs may be using them for personal/work privacy reasons, but they could be using them to set themselves in a location that they currently are not at. This is captured at the time of completing the photo ID verification. Values will be Yes/No if they are using a VPN.
12. Distance between ID address and IP address - The distance from the extracted address on the Photo ID and the IP address at the time of completing the photo ID verification. Some leads may be traveling or have recently moved. Please confirm the location information with this individual.