Tracking who has access to organizational networks, systems and data—and being able to prove this in a way that is difficult or impossible to repudiate—is an important component of operating a secure computing environment. For many business processes you need to know not just the individual person, but that the organization you are doing business with is the correct legal entity. For example, to avoid fraudulent billing you want to know that vendors you are doing business with are legitimate businesses and licensed to do the work if necessary.

Usually, checking this is a time-consuming, manual process, especially when tracking local offices or smaller organizations. Many business and government agencies go through a standard list of sources, such as a local chamber of commerce or even Google maps, checking up on each vendor.

A better way is to use an automated check on a combination of data points to discern if an organization is a valid business.  Name, address, telephone number, Federal tax ID, and financial data distinguishes not only the actual physical location of the business but can also recognize potential fraudulent activity. Searching against multiple identification databases can uncover discrepancies in the most important identity elements, giving you greater assurance that the business is the correct entity and is not fraudulent.

Organizations want to confirm the relationship between the business and the principal guarantor or other authorized representative of the business. If the relationship is weak, those potential partners should receive additional scrutiny. Often though, the problem is simple mis-keying – numbers transposed or common misspellings. A smart system is able to offer a ‘best match’ against names, addresses, phone numbers, and other data.

For more information about a federated identity structure that helps identify the legitimate business and weed out frauds, contact our specialists.