By: Michael C

There is software available already that will take a small amount of imagery of a person's face, or a short video, and manipulate it to create a false image or video of that person. If there is no face-to-face contact between the person whose identity is being verified and the person who has a duty to verify it I foresee difficulties. The case of P&P Property v Owen White and Catlin LLP in 2016 shows that there is no substitute for the application of common sense and direct contact between the parties. In that case (in my view) the solicitor who was attempting to verify the identity of the fraudster ticked the boxes but didn't use her common sense to respond properly to warning flags. I foresee much more box ticking and much less common sense if the proposed system is brought into use.
And I certainly wouldn't allow my phone to become the repository of any details of my passport because I have had to grant numerous apps the right to look at images and other data on the device. Zoom is just the latest app to demand this right.
The recent failure of the government's proposed Track and Trace app gives further cause for concern.
The Victorians had their wits about them when they created the Wills Act 1837 in response to growing numbers of will frauds. Sometimes the old ways are the best ways.