Allows online merchants, auction sites and social networks to easily authenticate user identities.

Accucom Corporation, a provider of public record, last week announced the launch of SafeID, a new ID verification service designed to better protect online merchants from fraudulent purchases. The company states that the service improves the way e-commerce sites authenticate users with a simple code that integrates the identity verification tool directly into a website's checkout process.

It explains that SafeID authentication begins when a user's name and email address are entered into the system during an intended purchase. From there, a series of five or six multiple choice questions are generated based on data from various sources and history of the potential purchaser. The company further explains that depending on the integration, users will either take the test on the merchant's site or receive it via email. It adds that upon completion, the user's score is made available to the merchant through their control panel, an API or by email which they can use to determine the customer's authenticity.

''Criminals using fraudulent credit card accounts are purchasing large quantities of goods from online merchants that they never intend to pay for. SafeID's verification tool intends to stop this type of activity before it starts and better protect both large and small commerce sites,'' said Alon Cohen, general manager at Accucom. ''With SafeID, online merchants have a simple, affordable service that supports legitimate transactions and criminals will avoid sites that potentially identify and isolate fraud.''