Fraud network: Veriff CrossLinks – the hidden superpower

In the identity verification industry, there’s a game-changing capability that sets Veriff apart. A feature most providers lack, and many businesses don’t even know to look for. While legacy solutions focus on document accuracy and processing speed, which are important but increasingly insufficient in today’s complex threat landscape, Veriff has developed something far more advanced. Enter Veriff CrossLinks: a real-time fraud intelligence network designed to combat fraud holistically, offering a level of protection no other IDV platform can match.

And recent insights from the Veriff Fraud Index highlight how urgent the industry needs this evolution. Nearly 96% of consumers worldwide have encountered fraudulent activity while using online services in the past year, and three-quarters have personally suffered a financial impact from such attacks. In particular, the report underscores the growing sophistication of fraud, with more than 78% of people targeted by AI-powered or deepfake fraud, and almost half expressing significant concern about these technologies. Against this backdrop, users increasingly demand more robust protections. Over 97% of respondents believe advanced identity verification and biometrics are crucial, especially in financial institutions and ecommerce. It’s clear: the stakes have never been higher and crosslinking has never been more important.

The power of cross-customer intelligence

Every day, fraudsters attempt to use the same stolen identities, fabricated documents, and sophisticated spoofing techniques across multiple platforms. Traditional IDV solutions treat each customer as an island; a fraudulent document that gets caught at Company A won’t be flagged when the same fraudster tries it at Company B minutes later.

Veriff’s CrossLinks changes this game entirely by creating a data mesh. Our Industry CrossLinks automatically share fraud insights across customers operating in the same industry, creating a defensive network that gets stronger with each new customer and every new verification.

Impact of crosslinking on fraud prevention

Here’s what makes this powerful: when our system detects that multiple sessions are completed by the same user, document, or device across different customers, it creates automatic links that provide early risk management indicators. This cross-customer intelligence contributes up to 6% of all prevented fraud – but more importantly, it reduces false positive and negative rates up to 30% depending on configuration.

The Veriff CrossLinks advantage isn’t just about technology; it’s about scale and market position. Building an effective fraud prevention consortium requires:

1. Critical mass of customers across industries

2. High volumes to generate meaningful patterns

3. Diverse industry coverage to detect cross-organization fraud attempts

4. Advanced AI system to process and correlate massive datasets in real-time

Many platforms simply don’t have the customer base or processing volume to make cross-customer insights effective. It’s a network effect that strengthens with scale, and Veriff’s 2,000+ customers provide the foundation that smaller platforms cannot match.

The compound effect of crosslinking

This is where Veriff’s advantage becomes truly compelling. Our customers include some of the world’s largest platforms – from financial services giants to major marketplaces and mobility companies. The fraud patterns we see from high-volume customers create intelligence that protects all customers in our network.

When a sophisticated fraud attempt is thwarted at a leading financial institution, that insight immediately enhances fraud detection for marketplaces, mobility platforms, or gaming networks. Veriff’s Industry CrossLinks leverages its global reach across finance, marketplaces, mobility, and gaming to identify meta-patterns that static solutions miss. Fraudsters often test and recycle their tactics across industries, but with Veriff, a document forgery method detected in a European bank can trigger instant alerts if it surfaces in a North American gaming platform. This creates an “early warning” system, where the network’s collective intelligence protects every customer, shutting down fraud rings before they gain traction.

Real-time fraud insights – how Veriff’s CrossLinks detects what others miss

While many identity verification providers limit their focus to analyzing documents—or even sessions—in isolation, Veriff takes a fundamentally different approach. We operate a real-time fraud insights network that identifies patterns across our entire customer ecosystem. This isn’t just about leveraging better technology; it’s about a transformative approach to fraud prevention that only the power of scale can achieve.

Multi-dimensional crosslinking

Veriff’s CrossLinks operates simultaneously across multiple detection layers:

Document-based insights

Advanced document analysis that detects signs of reuse, manipulation, or forgery through:

• Document similarity comparison across verification attempts
• Recognition of repeated or suspicious document attributes
• Detection of synthetic, altered, or fabricated identity documents
• High-precision document representations enabling forgery pattern recognition

Identity-based tracking:

Cross-identity behavioral and attribute profiling to uncover hidden links between fraudulent attempts:

• Matching data points such as document, device, biometric, and network  across platforms and customer ecosystems
• Detecting anomalous or high-risk identity attribute patterns
• Device-level and behavioral analytics for identifying persistent bad actors

Network intelligence:

• Infrastructure-level insight into coordinated or repeated attack patterns:

• Detection of organized fraud clusters and shared risk signals

• Monitoring for suspicious network activity and high-risk connection behaviors

• Cross-attempt correlation using device and network identifiers

The Swiss cheese model of defense

What makes Veriff’s approach unique is the “Swiss cheese model”: multiple overlapping fraud detection systems where CrossLinks work alongside velocity checks, device analysis, and behavioral patterns. When sophisticated fraudsters defeat one layer, others catch them.

The strength of a multilayered detection engine lies in its ability to prevent fraud patterns from recurring through design, not chance or manual intervention. If a signal bypasses one layer, it is detected by another, whether through device fingerprinting, behavioral analytics, metadata, network intelligence, or velocity checks. This layered approach ensures coverage across the entire fraud lifecycle and is particularly critical as deepfakes and generative AI–driven attacks continue to accelerate, as documented in Veriff’s Fraud Index 2025.

Speed of detection

Traditional fraud prevention is reactive: you catch fraud after it happens. Veriff’s CrossLinks provide real-time insights. When a known malicious user tries to verify as a new customer, the system instantly highlights why this session carries increased risk.  

This real-time decision support means fraudsters can’t simply “shop around” to different customers using the same stolen identity. Once caught in our network, they’re flagged across all relevant customers immediately.

Multi-account detection

Perhaps most importantly, our system detects when the same fraudulent identity attempts verification across multiple customers within the same industry. This multi-account detection capability helps customers identify organized fraud operations that coordinate attacks across platforms.

This isn’t just about catching individual fraudsters – it’s about detecting and disrupting organized crime networks that operate across multiple platforms simultaneously.

The compound intelligence effect

For participating customers, every verification session adds to our fraud intelligence dataset. But when you’re processing millions of sessions across diverse industries, something powerful happens: you start seeing meta-patterns that reveal organized fraud operations.

Geographic fraud insights

Fraud patterns vary significantly by geography. A technique common in Eastern Europe might be rare in North America, while Latin American fraud patterns might be completely different from Asian approaches. Veriff’s global customer base across 230+ countries and territories creates geographic fraud insights that other competitors with a more regional focus cannot match.

When a sophisticated fraud technique emerges in one region, our global network means customers worldwide benefit from that insight immediately. A document forgery pattern discovered in Europe instantly strengthens fraud detection for customers in North America, Asia, and elsewhere.

The network defense advantage

Veriff’s data advantage lies in its ability to create a network defense effect. When a sophisticated fraud attempt is detected within our network, every customer immediately benefits from Veriff´s Industry Crosslinking, enhancing their protection.

This is fundamentally different from traditional fraud prevention, where each company builds defenses in isolation. With Veriff’s consortium approach, an attack on any customer strengthens defenses for all customers.

Beyond individual companies – how consortium intelligence transforms industry security

The identity verification industry is at an inflection point. While fraudsters become increasingly organized, well-resourced, and collaborative, most companies still operate in silos – fighting sophisticated organized crime with fragmented, individual defenses. Veriff’s Crosslink customer consortium represents a fundamentally different approach: collective defense that matches the sophistication of modern fraud operations.

The collaboration gap in financial crime

Recent insights from Financial Crime 360 conferences reveal a stark reality: fraudsters today are organized, well-resourced, and highly collaborative – sharing data freely and exploiting new technologies like AI with alarming speed. In contrast, legitimate financial institutions still struggle with fragmented systems and limited data collaboration.

This collaboration gap creates vulnerabilities that organized crime exploits systematically. While individual companies invest heavily in fraud prevention, they’re fighting distributed, coordinated attacks with isolated, individual defenses.

Cross-company fraud operations

Modern fraud operations don’t target single companies – they execute coordinated attacks across multiple platforms simultaneously. A sophisticated identity theft operation might attempt to:

• Open accounts at multiple financial institutions
• Create profiles on various marketplaces  
• Register for mobility services
• Access gaming platforms
• Apply for multiple employment verification services

Without cross-customer intelligence, each company sees only one piece of a larger fraud operation. With Veriff’s Industry CrossLinks, a consortium approach, the entire pattern becomes visible, enabling proactive defense across all targeted platforms.

The early warning system

Veriff’s Industry CrossLinks create what amounts to an early warning system for the entire ecosystem. When a sophisticated fraud attempt is detected and blocked at one customer, that intelligence immediately flags similar attempts across other customers.

This transforms fraud prevention from reactive (catching fraud after it succeeds) to real-time (preventing fraud before it causes damage). The financial impact is significant – preventing fraud is always more cost-effective than remediating it after the fact.

Breaking down information silos

The UK’s FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) is exploring ways for institutions to share “confirmed fraud” insights to strengthen collective defenses. It reflects a broader industry recognition that collaboration is essential as fraud becomes more organized and technology-driven.

Veriff is already leading in this direction. Our Industry CrossLinks identifies meaningful connections across customer environments within existing legal and contractual frameworks, giving customers the benefits of shared insight today. It strengthens defenses proactively by delivering broader, real-time intelligence exactly when it matters.

The network effect in security

Security experts understand that network effects create exponential improvements in defense capabilities. Each new customer in Veriff’s consortium doesn’t just add their own protection – they strengthen protection for every existing customer.

This network effect means that large customers benefit from insights generated by smaller customers, and vice versa. A fraud pattern discovered at a startup could prevent significant losses at an enterprise customer. A sophisticated attack blocked at a major financial institution could protect dozens of smaller companies.

Regulatory compliance through collaboration

Increasingly, regulators expect companies to demonstrate not just individual compliance, but industry-wide collaboration in fraud prevention. Veriff’s Industry CrossLinks consortium approach helps customers meet these expectations by participating in shared defense networks.

The ability to demonstrate that your fraud prevention includes intelligence from across the industry strengthens compliance positions and reduces regulatory risk.

Speed of response to emerging threats

Fraud techniques now spread organically across online communities – one attacker’s success becomes everyone’s playbook within hours.

Consortium intelligence flips this dynamic: defenses developed in one part of the network immediately strengthen protections for all.

Building trust through transparency

One of the key themes emerging from Veriff’s research is that “transparency and cross-industry trust are the foundations of the next phase of fraud prevention.” Veriff’s Industry CrossLinks embodies this principle by creating shared visibility into fraud patterns while protecting individual customer privacy.

This approach builds trust not just between Veriff and our customers, but between different industries and sectors in their collective fight against organized crime.

The future of identity verification

As fraud becomes more sophisticated and coordinated, individual company approaches become less effective. The future belongs to those who collaborate, create shared intelligence, and drive collective defense.

Veriff’s Industry CrossLinks customer consortium is more than a current platform advantage – it represents the future of identity verification, where resilience is built on collective intelligence, rather than isolated systems that can be easily targeted.

The competitive reality – why no other IDV vendor can match Veriff’s consortium advantage

After analyzing the identity verification landscape, one thing becomes clear: while every vendor claims advanced fraud detection, only Veriff operates a true customer consortium with cross-customer intelligence. This isn’t just a feature difference – it’s a fundamental structural advantage that other platforms cannot easily replicate.

What’s missing? Cross-customer intelligence

Notably absent from competitor materials is any form of cross-customer intelligence – no shared fraud signals, no network effects, no industry-level threat sharing.

And this isn’t an oversight; true cross-customer intelligence requires capabilities most providers simply don’t have.

The customer network advantage

Veriff’s customer roster – Blockchain, Bolt, Deel, Monzo, Starship, Trustpilot, Webull, and others – creates an unmatched ecosystem. High-volume, high-diversity customers generate intelligence that strengthens defenses for everyone in the network.

Even a well-funded competitor starting today would need years to build comparable diversity and volume – years during which Veriff’s network continues compounding its advantage.

What other platforms actually compete on

Competitive analysis shows most vendors now lean on:

• Feature completeness (KYB, case management, workflows)
• Regional specialization
• Vertical focus
• Pricing strategies

But none compete on cross-customer intelligence – because they can’t. It’s not a product gap; it’s a structural one.

What this means for buyers? 

For buyers, this distinction is critical. Prospects aren’t simply choosing between similar vendors. They’re deciding between two fundamentally different approaches to fraud detection. The traditional approach analyzes each verification in isolation, leaving it blind to cross-platform fraud operations and unable to detect coordinated attacks. In contrast, Veriff’s consortium approach leverages pooled fraud intelligence across customers, industries, and regions. This enables the early detection of emerging patterns and the ability to stop coordinated attacks before they spread, offering a proactive and comprehensive defense against fraud.

The bottom line

Veriff’s Industry CrossLinks is not just a feature – it’s a structural advantage the market cannot easily replicate. It’s built on scale, diversity, infrastructure, and network effects that compound over time. This is Veriff’s superpower: We don’t just verify identities, we empower customers to participate in a collective defense network that gets smarter, stronger, and more resilient with every verification.