Doha – TLSContact, the company responsible for managing French visa applications for Moroccans, has recently announced groundbreaking measures to combat fraudulent practices in the booking of Schengen visa appointments.
The move comes in response to growing frustration among Moroccan applicants, who have been grappling with the rampant exploitation of appointment slots by broker networks.
These unscrupulous intermediaries have been monopolizing appointment slots and reselling them at exorbitant prices, causing undue hardship for Moroccans seeking to obtain visas through legitimate means.
The situation has led to excessive waiting times and even the inability to secure appointments altogether, as brokers manipulate the system for their own financial gain.
In a bid to address this pressing issue, TLSContact has introduced a new identity verification system that utilizes video calls conducted by company employees.
Starting September 18, this innovative procedure entered implementation in Rabat for specific visa categories, including family visits, tourism, research, professional travel, and cultural, scientific, or sporting events.
The video verification process aims to confirm the identity of visa applicants by requiring them to display their passport on camera during a live video call with TLS employees.
This measure is expected to eliminate fraudulent practices, protect applicants from exploitation, and ensure fair access to visa appointments for all Moroccans.
Deepfake risks in video verification
To gain a deeper understanding of the potential vulnerabilities and challenges the new system may face, Morocco World News (MWN) spoke with Anas Abou El Kalam, a university professor at the National School of Applied Sciences in Marrakech and an international expert in information security.
Abou El Kalam emphasized that the adoption of the video verification system by TLSContact is a direct response to the significant increase in fraudulent activities carried out by brokers who monopolize visa appointment slots and resell them at inflated prices.
“This system came after numerous complaints from citizens who faced difficulty in finding appointments due to brokers’ control over most of the available slots, causing excessive waiting times or even the impossibility of obtaining appointments,” he explained.
However, Abou El Kalam warned that brokers might attempt to exploit artificial intelligence techniques, particularly deepfake technology, to circumvent the video verification process.
“Using deepfake techniques, brokers can create fake videos that show real individuals interacting in real-time during the video call, making it difficult for the system to detect forgery,” he cautioned. “This technology includes generating faces and voices similar to the original applicants, opening the door to wide possibilities for fraud.”
Despite the potential for brokers to exploit deepfake technology, Abou El Kalam noted that they often resort to booking multiple appointments using automated software or bots, which they later sell to genuine applicants.
“In these cases, there is no need to forge identities during the appointment booking process, but the system can be exploited by bypassing security mechanisms using these technological tools,” he explained.
Abou El Kalam acknowledged that while deepfake techniques are still complex and require a high level of technology to produce highly realistic videos, the rapid advancements in this field make it likely for these technologies to become easier and more realistic in the near future.
“Currently, fake videos can be detected by analyzing eye or mouth movements, as these movements do not always naturally match the audio or the scene,” he said. “However, as technology advances, it can become very difficult to detect these differences.”
To address the challenges posed by deepfake technology, Abou El Kalam suggested integrating systems that rely on artificial intelligence to detect forgery.
“These systems can analyze natural facial movements, such as eye and mouth movements, to ensure that the person in the video is real and not the result of AI-based forgery,” he explained. “Systems like iProov, which are based on analyzing behavioral and biometric patterns, are considered advanced solutions that can detect these types of forgery.”
Abou El Kalam also highlighted the potential gaps in the video verification system that brokers may exploit. “Manipulation of video and audio is one of the weaknesses, as forgery techniques like deepfakes can allow brokers to easily forge this data,” he warned.
Additionally, he pointed out that brokers use bot techniques to book a large number of appointments, allowing them to sell these slots later without the need to identify applicants during the booking process.
Abou El Kalam also mentioned that brokers might use pre-recorded videos to deceive the system, making it difficult to detect forgery in real-time. “In some cases, if the appointment buyer is already known to the fraudulent broker, the latter may use pre-recorded videos to trick the system,” he explained.
To enhance the security of the video verification system and prevent any attempts at manipulation, Abou El Kalam proposed adopting additional measures, such as biometric authentication during appointment booking, multi-factor authentication, and behavioral analysis using artificial intelligence.
He also emphasized the importance of training TLSContact staff to recognize fraud attempts and use advanced detection tools. “Adding the human factor to the automated analysis with artificial intelligence yields better results, as AI is currently used as an assistant and not a substitute for humans,” he noted.
Legal implications and broader applications
MWN also spoke to Hassan Kherjouj, an expert in digital marketing and IT development, who shed light on the potential benefits and challenges of TLSContact’s new video verification system.
Kherjouj recognized that while brokers might attempt to exploit the system using pre-recorded videos of applicants, the new measures could effectively curtail fraudulent activities.
“The comprehensive facial recognition required by the system, capturing the applicant’s face from various angles, makes it extremely difficult for brokers to manipulate the process,” he explained.
According to the expert, committing identity fraud is not only a technical challenge but also a serious legal issue. “First, there is the legal aspect of identity theft and forgery, which is strictly punished by law,” he emphasized, highlighting the severe consequences brokers may face for engaging in such activities.
It is noteworthy that the Moroccan Penal Code, as amended on June 14, 2021, specifically addresses the penalties for identity fraud in its seventh branch. Articles 380 to 391 of this section detail the legal consequences for various forms of identity fraud and misrepresentation.
Kherjouj highlighted the potential broader applications of the video verification system beyond combating visa fraud.
“The collected biometric data could prove invaluable for various security matters, especially with upcoming events in Morocco,” he noted. “This system allows the Moroccan state to build a comprehensive database of individuals applying for visas. For instance, if an individual with malicious intent attempts to enter or leave the country, this facial recognition database could aid authorities in identifying and thwarting potential security threats.”
These insights are particularly relevant in light of the new EU Entry/Exit System, which similarly aims to enhance border security through biometric data collection.
Read also: BLS Visa Center Implements Strict Measures for Fair, Transparent Appointments in Morocco
