Using CertifiedTrue for Digital Image Verification Can Eliminate Fraudulent Evidence

A recent estimate by the FBI puts the annual cost of insurance fraud at more than $40 billion, which was reported in an article published by the Insurance Information Institute. Based on studies conducted by the Institute as far back as 1980, they concluded that “about 10 percent of the incurred losses and loss adjustment expenses each year in the property/casualty (PC) insurance industry were attributable to fraud.” At that rate, P/C fraud in 2019 and 2020 will cost an annual average of $38 billion.

In the past, photo-based estimates were predominantly employed by insurers for low-value claims. But when several jurisdictions instituted lockdowns, insurers began using this strategy for claims with a higher loss value.

During the crisis, the manufacturing sector shifted its focus. If and to what extent these routines are maintained after workers return to their desks is something only time can tell.

Digital photographs, more than ever before, are susceptible to manipulation and should not be relied upon as documentary evidence. The inability of legal firms and courts to keep up with the rapid development of technology has become an increasingly pressing issue. Legal services providers, including prosecutors and police, have a difficult time proving whose last possession of photographs had been stored in electronic case files or management systems. All parties involved in legal matters, including clients, attorneys, and their businesses, are put at risk as a result. When it’s so simple to fabricate false information, manipulate images, and present AI-assisted fakes that really can convince a judge and jury, businesses need a reliable solution to combat this issue because they can no longer depend on what their customers email them as the only source of information.

A more robust protocol infrastructure and reestablished checks and balances to prevent the use of fake digital photographs are expected to be put in place by the industry over time. However, at the bottom of the proverbial “funnel,” identifying fraud in digital photos is labor-intensive, inefficient, and challenging.

Experts have a hard time detecting manipulations in digital photos, and most adjusters don’t have the training to spot them. Even if fraud is detected, there is no way to affirm that a given image is the same as the original. Once a digital photo or video has been captured and uploaded across a network, it becomes almost impossible to prove the chain of custody from its creation and that the image and its provenance have not been changed. 

Firms might lose their reputation, a high-stakes case, and clients with just one bad case or dishonest client. The entire business could be at risk in the event of a malpractice suit. Clients now assume that their legal representation will use cutting-edge innovation to help them win their disputes. The companies that are able to adapt to these new requirements and even thrive will be the ones that are able to stay technologically ahead of the competition. Meanwhile, authorities are under time constraints, and pressure from all sides calls for the revelation of credible evidence as soon as possible.

One startup, CertifiedTrue, is taking a novel approach to the problem that has the potential to have enormous impact on industries that rely on digital photos or videos as evidence.

CertifiedTrue is a business-to-business software as a service (SaaS) provider with a primary goal of eradicating the possibility of image fraud through the provision of a platform based on proprietary technology that allows certification and verification of digital images to ensure their credibility as evidence in court or for claim adjudication. This process, called “trusted image verification”, is likely to become its own sub-industry as more firms wake up to the risks of relying on any image that has not been verified by a third party.

PhotoProof, a CertifiedTrue SaaS product, uses blockchain-inspired 4th-generation technology to securely record, certify, and verify the authenticity, accuracy, and originality of digital photographs and videos and their associated metadata. It prevents faked photos from being used in any way. The app facilitates the collection, organization, and verification of data that is immutably registered, time-stamped, geo-tagged, and essentially third-party certified as original.

Your CertifiedTrue picture is evidence that cannot be altered or disputed. Critical metadata, such as geolocation or date, can be removed or altered in any other photo with minimal effort. Never-before-seen images and movies can now be made entirely by artificial intelligence. Because the photo’s cryptographic identity has been registered on an immutable registry, it can’t happen with a CertifiedTrue photo. In addition, the image can be shared with relevant parties, including the court and the attorney, with full confidence that everyone is viewing the same unaltered “proof.” When one pixel or piece of information is altered, the entire image can no longer be trusted and cannot be verified. 

CertifiedTrue ensures you have true proof from the moment the shutter clicks rather than the nearly impossible effort of discovering fakes.

We can’t expect technology to address every issue forever. Yet, with the use of CertifiedTrue’s PhotoProof, digital picture forgery might soon become a thing of the past and a critical element of trust be restored to our increasingly digital world.

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