Protect and grow your social platform

Social media verification refers to the processes and systems that digital platforms use to validate user identities. Verification systems help distinguish authentic users from bots, impersonators, and bad actors while protecting genuine users from scams and harmful content. When applied effectively, social media verification prevents fraud, ensures compliance, and builds trust in online communities. 

Mainstream platforms perform initial social media verification by requesting personally identifiable information (PII) during customer onboarding (such as name, email address, and phone number). These details are vetted against databases and often confirmed via security measures like two-factor authentication (2FA) in which a user can prove ownership of their identity by responding to automated messages or entering unique verification codes. Business accounts, government organizations, or accounts for public figures may undergo additional validation, such as document and address verification.

Social media verification is one component of how platforms meet rapidly evolving regulatory standards. For example, to prevent social media marketplaces from being used for fraud, money laundering, or other forms of financial crime, the EU’s Digital Services Act has created stringent requirements for validating merchant accounts. Additionally, service providers face increasing pressures to develop accurate age verification processes. Several states have already passed online child protection laws, such as Florida’s HB3, that require platforms to deny access to underage users. By designing and deploying comprehensive social media verification systems, platforms can not only satisfy current requirements but also position themselves to adapt easily to new regulations. 

Socure’s AI-powered social media verification solution creates safer digital communities by delivering complete identity certainty. Instead of basic checks or piecemeal solutions that bad actors can easily bypass, Socure verifies all aspects of identity with RiskOS™, a single, easy-to-use platform. Socure’s tools include:  

• Phone RiskScore: Verifies 28% more phone numbers than the top competitors. Reduces false positives by up to 700%.

• Email RiskScore: 10% increase in coverage over the leading email verification platforms. Analyzes over 56 email fraud predictors across the customer lifecycle. 

• Digital Intelligence: Tracks real-time data on device hardware, networks, and user behavior. 

• Predictive DocV: Uses advanced AI and machine learning to verify documents and biometrics in under 2 seconds. It effectively detects and prevents deepfakes, fake IDs, and identity fraud, enhancing user experience and reducing business costs.

Identity fraud on social media services triggers a wide range of adverse outcomes, from eroding user confidence in platforms to undermining authentic connections. According to the FTC, social media scams are now the most common way to initiate contact with victims and have resulted in losses of $2.7 billion since 2021. Insufficient social media verification also weakens advertising models, as bots inflate viewer metrics and diminish the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, threatening platform revenue and sustainability. Beyond these losses, identity fraud drives up content moderation costs, invites regulatory scrutiny, and heightens the risk of legal liability. Ultimately, when users cannot trust that the accounts they interact with are legitimate, they become less likely to engage in conversations or transactions. Left unchecked, this could lead to platforms losing their credibility as trustworthy channels for community building and digital commerce. 

Socure achieves unprecedented accuracy thanks to its proprietary machine-learning models, sophisticated detection systems, and the world’s largest risk insights network of over 400 databases across businesses, industries, and geographic regions. After over a decade of R&D, Socure is now capable of accurate social media verification for 99% of mainstream users and 30% more 18-year-olds than competing platforms. The platform provides real-time alerts and uses generative AI to summarize flagged issues and recommend actions, streamlining manual reviews and enabling analysts to spend more time on higher-value activities. Trusted by more than 2,800 top enterprises, Socure secures every stage of customer onboarding, even for hard-to-verify groups like Gen Z, thin file, and new-to-country individuals.