I-Checkit

An innovative border management capability

Criminal groups and terrorists use stolen travel documents to conceal their identities and cross borders undetected. Given this threat, and faced with increasing volumes of international passengers, countries need to heighten their border control and identity management measures.

I-Checkit is a screening solution that complements and enhances national border security systems. It allows trusted partners in the private sector to conduct advanced passenger checks in real-time, in collaboration with the law enforcement community.

Given the ease with which terrorists, organized crime groups and travelling sex offenders are able to access regularized travel routes, there is  a need to enhance global security standards.

Implementing I-Checkit in the financial sector

Criminals are increasingly using stolen and fraudulent documents to open bank accounts and commit financial fraud. These accounts pose serious security risks, allowing the transfer of illicit funds. They can also be connected to other types of organized crime including drug trafficking and the financing of terrorism.

I-Checkit was extended to the financial sector to address this threat. It strengthens our partners’ capacity to screen new and existing clients and meet their obligations to carry out appropriate due diligence.  This can help identify fraudulent accounts and fight against money laundering schemes and financing of terrorism.

Working with trusted airlines and maritime partners

The I-Checkit screening solution was introduced in 2014 to bridge a gap in safety and security in the transportation industry. Following successful pilot phases which demonstrated the benefits of I-Checkit to law enforcement as well as trusted partners, the solution was endorsed by INTERPOL’s member countries as part of our global border management strategy for both the aviation and maritime sectors.

How the solution works

I-Checkit enables carriers and financial institutions to submit customer identity documents information for screening against SLTD database (travel and identity documents) and documents associated with Red Notices. The data screened does not include names of individuals.

A database match triggers an instant alert so the situation can be investigated. Notifications are sent to INTERPOL’s General Secretariat and to National Central Bureaus in the countries concerned, and other relevant national law enforcement entities. In some cases, the companies’ security teams can also receive the notification so they can carry out a secondary check of the document in question at the boarding gate (for aviation and maritime) or further scrutinize the account opening during onboarding process.

I-Checkit was created to allow airlines to instantaneously check whether a person intending to board an international flight is using a passport registered with INTERPOL as stolen or lost. It takes less than 0.5 seconds to query INTERPOL’s database once a passport is scanned.

Scanners collect the information necessary to transmit to INTERPOL’s database for screening. This does not include personal data, just document type, document number and issuing country.

Michael O’Connell, Director of Operational Support and Analysis, addressing the 84th INTERPOL General Assembly, said that I-Checkit could become an invaluable investigative and preventative policing component so as to help deliver safer communities.

The Resolution approved by INTERPOL’s General Assembly calls upon member countries to support I-Checkit’s continued development by allowing for queries against national SLTD data with the appropriate controls applied under provisions on data protection.

Following successful tests within the airline industry, I-Checkit will be piloted in the maritime transportation sector.

INTERPOL’s member countries endorsed through a Resolution its I-Checkit service model for airlines as a key component of the Organization’s global border management strategy.

AirAsia was the first airline to implement the I-Checkit system – its successful 16-month pilot demonstrated the value of I-Checkit in mitigating the criminal risks that are behind identity fraud.

/