Four situations, four evidence questions
| Situation | What you need to establish | What a picture leaves unresolved |
|---|---|---|
| Counterfeit document | Whether the claimed issuer produced it | An image cannot establish issuance |
| Altered document | Whether personal details or other elements changed | A crop may hide the area of change |
| Borrowed or stolen ID | Whether the presenter is the rightful holder | A genuine-looking document can belong to someone else |
| Fabricated digital image | Whether the submitted file represents an actual document | Pixels alone do not prove that a physical original exists |
These categories are a practical model, not a legal classification. The next step depends on your role, the document type and your organization's approved process. A receptionist, a fraud analyst and a passport authority do not have the same evidence or powers.
Separate the checks
Identity proofing distinguishes validating identity evidence from verifying the connection between that evidence and an applicant. Treating those as separate tasks helps explain why a readable document is not enough. NIST SP 800-63A-4: identity proofing
Write down the claim you are checking before choosing a tool. “This field follows the expected syntax” is a narrow claim. “This document is genuine” is broader. “This person is entitled to use it” is broader still. Keep each conclusion attached to the evidence that supports it.
A useful review record
- Document the observed issue in neutral terms: “expiry field is unreadable,” rather than “obviously fake.”
- Record the capture conditions. Glare, compression and cropping can make genuine features difficult to assess.
- Use an authoritative reference for the exact document edition, where available.
- Keep uncertainty explicit and follow an approved escalation route.
- Collect and retain only the information your process actually requires.
If you searched for a fake ID generator
For a form, demo or QA environment, use marked fictional records. You do not need a plausible government ID to test required fields, error messages or date-order rules. A safe fixture should deliberately fail any attempt to use it as identification.