USPS ponders offering ID verification services for businesses, citizens

The United States Postal Service may begin safeguarding businesses by providing ID verification services as well as potentially issuing unique digital IDs. At a recent discussion hosted by George Mason University's School of Public Policy, researchers from GMU and the USPS's Risk Analysis Research Center (RARC) discussed how the agency could serve citizens in new ways by offering digital identity creation and authentication services, FCW reports While digital identities for organizations and specific individuals are vulnerable to fraud and ID theft, RARC named a number of ways they could be improved. For example, similar to passport verification, the USPS would be able to provide in-person authentication. Additionally, the agency could serve as a third party to verify citzens' residences. "Customers could choose what to reveal about their real-world identity in a given transaction, with specificity ranging from street address to region, state, county, city or ZIP code," the news source explains. In the past few years, the USPS has struggled to stay afloat as more people move online for their mailing needs.