About this interactive
Most online accounts take your word for who you are. The Identity Proofing lesson's example is a free email account: you type a name, true or not, and the account is yours.
Some services cannot work that way. Before they give you access, they need to know you are the real, legal person you claim to be, so they ask you to prove it: you set up an account and then upload a government ID, a driving licence or other documents, and they check them. The lesson's examples are a travel visa and a veteran card. That check is identity proofing.
The services that need it are the ones where a false identity would do real harm: money (bank, brokerage and loan accounts), government services and benefits, legal status such as visas and licences, and medical records. Free sites for hobbies, games, news and newsletters lose little if a name is made up, so signing up is enough.
A quick test for each card: would it matter if the person signing up were someone else?
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