Ok, Ryan, if you ever want to become a designer, we have a real role open at Civic.

With the rise of initial coin offerings and token generation events in a relatively unregulated market, we have seen some pretty creative frauds out there.

Although not new, online impersonation has become more of an expected nuisance than a plague that must be eradicated. It’s not just bad for stakeholders that get duped, it’s often as damaging to the reputation of advisors, investors or celebrities being touted as “endorsers” on random websites they have no affiliation with. This is an issue that was recently flagged by Richard Branson and it will only get worse unless it’s addressed.

While this idea was in the making for a while, the scale of fake endorsements accelerated our development, and we are now proud to announce that Civic is launching ID Codes to enable anyone to securely verify an individual’s relationship with a business. This is the first-ever blockchain-based verification mechanism where both parties opt-in. There’s no database filled with personally identifiable information (PII) as a single point of failure and no bots meddling or tracking for advertising purposes.

ID codes will change the way advisors, investors and team members are showcased on websites. The codes will provide users and prospective investors with a secure and independent way to verify social media profiles or blogs, regardless of the platform, with a unique link and verified profile via the blockchain. The adoption of ID codes will protect people from fake accounts, fake news, and other fake online real estate.

Pre-register today for ID codes early access, as we roll it out in the next few weeks.

P.S. We like to drink our own champagne (or #cryptobeer!). Check out our token sale advisors section and click on the little check mark for a demo of the functionality.