How do you stop sexual perverts from targeting individuals on social networks? How can an organisation trust every prospective employee resume? How do individuals seeking a life partner trust profiles uploaded on varied matrimonial website? How do you verify the authenticity of user profiles on social networking website like Facebook, Orkut, MySpace etc ?

As the wondrous Internet connects people across the globe it even plays a major role in encouraging sexual perverts and frauds. In fact research shows that 70% of all dating or matrimonial website users do not trust people, while 50% resumes in the US and India contain false information.

Even social networks have proven to be perilous taking the example of Adnan Patrawala who was kidnapped and killed by the supposed “friends” he had made through Orkut. Even Mayawati had to face the brunt of acrimonious Orkut users who had posted several profiles of the Chief Minister with objectionable and fictitious personal details attributed to her. These are just a few startling figures and examples pointing at the increase in identity fraud and sharing of false information. In the end misrepresentation and falsification leads to corrupting the entire online ecosystem.

Indian organisation and individuals are extremely naïve as we do not have a robust identity and credential authentication system compared to foreign nations. While Indian Internet users make the best of online matrimonial sites and social network they are ignorant of the evils that lurk. On the other hand organisations recruiting individuals from online job portals (Naukri.com, TimesJobs.com) or HR firms are oblivious about the accuracy of their credentials.

Well the solution of the problem was incubated  in the Wharton School of Business  by Rakesh Antala and Alex Mittal. And thus Crederity was born. It was also a Wharton Business Plan Competition semi-finalist in 2004-2005 . Co-Founder & CEO Rakesh Antala took out time to run me through the Crederity product offering.

While US enjoys as automated process for identity credential checks in India it is a new concept. Thus Crederity has created plug-and-play identity and credential authentication tools designed to integrate into current online and offline environments. Crederity helps prevent identity and credential fraud through an online verification and certification program, enabling individuals and businesses for integrity to stand apart while safeguarding them against fraud. When quizzed about the name of the product Co-Founder and CEO Rakesh said, “Crederity  is derived from “credentials” and “verity”. Also from “creder” (to believe) and “verity”. We got into this business out of a genuine desire to add integrity and value to professional credentials as a result of personal experiences”.

The services allow anyone to easily, safely and securely share, request and verify personal and business information. Their fact verification technologies easily reveal the genuineness of individuals and businesses enabling infallible transactions and interactions.

The Crederity Product Offering
Crederity Card & Web Seal Program
The Crederity Card is based on Trust Facts which is a dynamic set of facts about an individual verified by the company. Trust Facts is a compilation of an individual’s identity, experience, education, references, certifications and online feedback from varied websites. In this process Crederity acts as a third-party verifier offering an online listing of card holders. Currently they are not offering any physical cards, but yet it is the part of their agenda.

On the other hand the Web Seal Program is interconnected with the card and acts as a seal of approval (just like ISI for products and INS for businesses). Users can flaunt the Web Seal on their resumes, profiles or any credential based medium.

Crederity Trusted Program
The Trusted Program is yet another way businesses can aggregate Crederity Cards for their employees. The Cards are backed with a certification of verified business information like entity status, employee strength, testimonials and more.

The Crederity Benefit Chart

Crederity offers different packages for individuals and corporates. In fact the verification process varies for individuals and corporates as per their needs. Users can customise their Cards and have complete control on the information they share.

The India Focus
“The growing online economy has increased the number of C2C, B2C, and B2B interactions, but along with efficiencies such as one-click resume submission, marketplace bidding, and date finding, inefficiencies have arisen as an unintended “revenge effect”. Quality has become a needle in a haystack, and the inability to discern whose information can be trusted is impeding the adoption of services. Fewer transactions are happening than possible due to costlier, longer, and riskier selection cycles” says Rakesh who is offering a novel solution to discerning Indians.

With the lack of any verification service or tool Crederity surely has an upper hand. Before foraying into India Crederity surveyed 400 HR personals to conclude that they preferred pre-verified candidates. “Given the lack of a functioning ID system in India, and increasingly serious reports of fraud, we realized that the country would be a perfect testing ground and stress test for identity and credential authentication systems we are developing” justifies Rakesh.

Crederity has even created a reference verification tool for Indian HR companies which was rolled out for free. In fact they are currently running a joint campaign with the Indian matrimonial website SimplyMarry.com. The campaign will help individuals verify credentials of potential partners. They have plans to work closely with loan portals such as Dhanax and ApnaLoan in turn expanding their service options.

Indian users and corporates can register with the website which is ingeniously designed and has a simple registration process with a minimal fee. Crederity has access to the network of around 4000 associates through its exclusive partnerships with logistics companies in India who conduct physical verifications.

Rakesh Antala said that they are currently eyeing traditional and online advertising to create a buzz about their product, and adds  “We are currently gearing up for the full launch of services in the coming months through joint campaigns with our partners including SimplyMarry.com”. The Beta version is in its launch stage.

In the end this novel solution will create a whole new proposition, in-turn boosting background checks and identity verification in India. It is high time Indian organisations and recruiters take heed of this matchless product and indirectly ease recruitment processes.

So get ready for a ‘reality check’!