As you’ll likely be aware, a lot of employers in the UK use Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks. They’re typically used to confirm that job applicants don’t have criminal records, especially ones that would make them unsuitable for certain roles.
While the main aim of using these checks is to safeguard – especially in sectors like healthcare, childcare, and finance – some organisations also see them as a tool against identity fraud. That being said, how effective are DBS checks at preventing identity fraud?
What a DBS check does
A DBS check compares the personal details an applicant provides to their potential employer, including their name, date of birth, address history, with information contained in official criminal record databases. If there’s a match, relevant convictions, cautions, or barring decisions may be disclosed to the hiring organisation, depending on the level of check.
In most cases, the process indirectly acts as a form of identity validation. If someone provides false details, the check may fail if those details don’t come up on the police system. Likewise, discrepancies in address history or inconsistencies in provided identification can result in places like Personnel Checks flagging other kinds of issues, even if that isn’t the intended purpose of the check.
Identity fraud limitations
It’s worth noting that a DBS check isn’t technically an identity verification service. It doesn’t, for example, confirm whether a passport or driving licence is genuine; that part usually happens earlier in the recruitment process, often through document checks or ID verification systems.
A determined fraudster using stolen, genuine documents in someone else’s name could very well still pass the identity element of a DBS check, at least initially. For this reason, relying on the DBS alone as an anti-fraud measure would leave gaps.
DBS checks in their broader context
Where DBS checks do help is in closing the door on people attempting to work under entirely false identities. The combination of document checks, address history validation, and matching against government-held data makes it much harder for fabricated identities to survive scrutiny, and entirely made up names, addresses and numbers will be flagged pretty much straight away.
In practice, many employers pair the DBS process with:
- Right-to-work checks to ensure legal eligibility for employment.
- Enhanced ID verification tools that confirm the authenticity of documents and, in some cases, match photos to live facial images.
- Reference and employment history checks, to make sure that the person’s career record checks out
When used together, these measures are an effective tool, and end up being a much stronger barrier against identity fraud than any one step could provide on its own.
DBS checks aren’t intended to be used as a standalone identity fraud prevention tool, but they do contribute to verifying that a person is who they say they are, especially when they’re used in combination with other checks.
For employers handling sensitive roles or vulnerable groups, this layered system doesn’t just reduce the risk of fraud. It also strengthens trust internally in your organisation, protects your clients, and safeguards the organisation’s reputation against a wide variety of potential security issues