Whenever someone is holding an identity document, they need to quickly determine whether it is genuine. Do the facial features of the person in the photo correspond to the document bearer's appearance? This seemingly routine operation is inits essence a complex activity requiring, in addition to basic attentiveness, certain knowledge about what the essential elements of a valid document should be and what signs of forgery can be detected.

It must be remembered that the verification of documents is not only establishing their authenticity and that they belong to the bearer. A special thing about such verification is that it often has very significant implications for both those who verify and those who are verified. Thus, having made sure of the identity document's authenticity, the responsible person (a po­lice officer, customs officer, checkpoint security officer, etc.) allows entrance to the document bearer. Having compared the passport data with the passport holder's appearance, an employee of the bank effects monetary transactions and a notary certifies a deed of gift, sale, etc. Therefore, document verification should not be a formal action consisting merely in becoming familiar with the document and comparing the photo in it with the bearer's face.

Document verification should be treated with responsibility, presuming that the document may have been fully or partially forged, and its owner is not the person he claims to be.

Unfortunately, there are numerous examples where criminals are actively using fake identity documents by, for instance, gluing in another photo, forging residence permit and marriage registration stamps, etc.

Crimes entailing more serious consequences are committed with the use of artfully forged documents, which is facilitated by the possibilities of the modern copiers. As a result, false documents are difficult to distinguish from genuine ones without proper examination. Therefore, verification should include careful examination of the document, as well as verification of the identity of its bearer.

Of course, every separate case must not be reduced to the verification of documents to detect a violator, but it is absolutely necessary to keep in mind the possibility of such a fact, to have the knowledge, as well as tech­nical and information means of verification.

Key Info Systems LLC in cooperation with the international publishing house KEESING Reference Systems B.V. offers a complex of information publications on passports and other identity documents - "KEESING Document Directory".

The directory was created in cooperation with the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), now it is used in 120 countries around the world. It allows one to quickly perform selective checks of passports and many other identity documents as to their authenticity.

"KEESING Document Directory" contains information about more than 1.5 thousand documents (internal, national, diplomatic, business, consular passports, seaman books, driver's licenses and ID-cards) issued in more than 180 countries worldwide.

The database includes pictures of the identification documents, their main pages, description of the filling rules and a detailed analysis of the most important protective means. An important element is the module for verification of passports and ID-documents' machinereadable zone data (MRZ-module). A large number of images are made using a special photography technique, represent the documents' appearance under UV light, holograms from different angles, various optically variable effects, microprinting, etc.

Altogether there are more than 20,000 images of various pages and protective features. There is an operating training module that contains a short training course on detection of forged passports. Fake document samples are shown. The directory users get 24 hour access to a constantly updated database.

"KEESING Document Directory" is intended for the officers of the border guard, customs service, immigration service, Ministry of Internal Affairs, forensic units, notaries, specialists of banks, insurance companies, and other organizations that have a need to verify documents.

The user is offered an easy-to-use graphical interface; passports are examined at several protection levels.

Verification and analysis of identity documents is performed in order to:
■ detect forged documents (either altered or completely falsified);
■ establish the authenticity of the protection elements;
■ determine the authenticity of the documents by comparison with the known standards;
■ obtain other information pertaining to the contents of the document.

During the examination, various characteristics of the document are analyzed, compared and evaluated using the directory:
■ characteristics of the base material (paper or polymer);
■ characteristics of the printing ink;
■ printing methods used to create the document;
■ protective elements;
■ physical properties of the document;
■ personalization methods/curriculum vitae;
■ electronic carriers (smart chips, magnetic stripes, machine-readable zones).

These characteristics are studied and compared with the images stored in the database in order to detect similarities and differences.

The staff responsible for checking identity documents must have a certain set of knowledge and skills in the field of verification, depending on the agency where the specialist works, and, respectively, the purposes of such verification. In general, the employee should be informed about the basic properties and components of the document protection: the base materials, printing inks, protective elements, collating methods, filling biographical data in the documents.

One also needs to have information about the general threats, study the relevant operational information, get constantly updated information on the detected passport forgeries, document counterfeiting and alteration methods. Also important is the knowledge about the influence of environmental factors on the document characteristics (e.g., sunlight, humidity, etc.). It is absolutely necessary to have the skills of using the available equipment that helps to examine the document and its protective characteristics.

In our country, "KEESING Document Directory" is used by the employees of commercial organizations, banks, the Federal Border Guard Service of the Russian Federation. Management of Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation has taken interest in the database. The extended working group under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation for further reformation of the law enforcement agencies supported the idea of introduction in our country of the computer program for express passport checking - "KEESING Document Directory". This is particularly relevant in the run-up to the major international events - the Olympic and Paralympic Games.