Common ID red flags: forged, reluctant, shared identifiers
A document that looks wrong, a customer who will not be identified, and the same identifier on two customers are red flags. Staff stop the designated service and tell the compliance officer.
Quick answer
You are not asked to prove a forgery. You are asked to notice that the document, the person, or the story does not hang together, and to stop. Do not coach the customer on how to make the document pass. Do not tell them you are thinking of a report; the officer decides the next step; the firm does not complete the service on a flag it has not dealt with.
People search “AML ID red flags” when a staff member has an identity document that does not match the person, or a number they have seen on another file. Checked against AUSTRAC’s risks and indicators of suspicious activity on 4 October 2026. This is general information, not legal advice. This page does not reproduce that guidance. What happens if the officer treats it as a suspicious matter is on suspicious matter reports for Tranche 2. What you do not say to the client is on what not to tell a client. The sector map is /tranche-2.
Notice, stop, hand over
The common flags are ordinary to describe and dangerous to “fix.” A document looks altered, or the photo is not the person in front of you. The customer is reluctant, angry, or offering a different person. The same document number, or the same unusual address, appears on two customers who are not the same person. Any one of those is a reason to stop providing the designated service.
Staff do not investigate like a document examiner, and this page will not list security features or how a fake is built. The handoff is to the compliance officer the same day, with the file as it is. Do not ask the customer to come back with a cleaner version of a document you already doubt. Do not explain that a report might follow; principles only: stop, record what you saw, tell the officer.
- Describe what you saw. “Photo does not match” is useful. “I think it is fake” without the observation is not.
- Do not repair the customer’s story. If they offer a new explanation, write it down. Do not suggest a better one.
- Check the identifier against your own files. A shared number is a flag. It is not a reason to copy the first file onto the second.
- Leave the service unfinished. A completed designated service on an unresolved flag is the failure.
Three flags, one handoff
Use the same handoff for each flag so a busy office does not treat reluctance as mere rudeness and a shared number as a data entry joke. Write the observation, stop the service, and tell the compliance officer the same day.
Red flags at the identity step. This table does not reproduce AUSTRAC’s risk indicators, and it is not a document-examination guide.
| What you notice | What it might be | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Document looks altered, or is not the person | A reason to doubt the identity | Stop, note what you saw, tell the officer |
| Customer reluctant or offering a substitute | A refusal to be the customer on the file | Stop, do not bargain a lower standard |
| Same identifier on two customers | A shared or reused identity | Stop the second file, tell the officer |
| The story changes when you ask again | A reason to pause | Write both versions, do not pick the convenient one |
Where the red-flag page stops
This page is what staff notice and who they tell. It is not how to file a suspicious matter and it is not the tipping-off script. Those are suspicious matter reports for Tranche 2 and what not to tell a client. FreeAML does not declare a document genuine and does not lodge a report.
The firm suite is A$0. A completed check, where the program still wants one, is client-pays.
What the client pays
On FreeAML the firm suite is A$0. The firm emails the client a link. Verification is client-pays. On the public list a personal KYC check is A$20 and a company or trust KYB check is A$40. Use KYB when the customer is a company or a trust. The firm suite does not include judging a document genuine, and it does not include a report to AUSTRAC. Confirm the live amounts on FreeAML pricing. FreeAML does not tell you a document is genuine or lodge a suspicious matter report.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Stop the file. Tell the officer.
The firm suite is A$0. The client pays a check that is actually completed. A red flag is not a fee and not a shortcut.
Open the Tranche 2 guideQuestions: team@freeaml.com.au