U.S. Passport under UV

U.S. Passport under UV

The threat of digital counterfeiting and forgery of identity documents is growing at an increasing rate. In the past, only skilled professionals with very sophisticated equipment created counterfeit or altered passports, driver licenses, national ID cards, and financial instruments. Today, however, the counterfeiting threat for a wide array of documents has moved from the professional to the casual counterfeiter. Because sophisticated counterfeiting tools, such as scanners, card printers, and image editing software are readily available at ever decreasing prices, identity document attacks by both criminal and casual counterfeiters are a growing threat.

For government-issued citizen identity documents, this counterfeiting and forgery risk threatens personal, corporate, and national security. This risk also limits the ability of law enforcement personnel and merchants to confirm identity. Reliably confirming the authenticity of an identity document minimizes the potential for incredibly large financial losses to individuals and businesses.

SIMPLE-TO-VERIFY FEATURES

Many identification documents are very simple to verify using ultra-violet equipment. Ultra-Violet scanners can be used to validate a range of U.S. National, as well as international, identification documents, such as:

  • US Passport
  • State Driver Licenses and State ID Cards (43 states)
  • Social Security card
  • Mexican Matricula Consular
  • Foreign Passports from most countries
  • Canadian Driver Licenses
  • Credit Cards (w/ Visa, MasterCard, AMEX or Discover logos)

WHY VERIFYING IDENTITY IS IMPORTANT

The greatest indicator of the evolution of identity theft involves the nature of the data piracy that has grown pandemic in recent years. With the adaptation by criminal organizations of “Web 2.0″ networking tools (such as MySpace & Wikis), a sophisticated black market has sprung up online to buy and sell personal data. Some of this comes from public records; for example, obtaining a driver’s license or purchasing real estate automatically creates a public record. Add these readily available identifiers to other electronic bits and pieces, such as account numbers and Social Security numbers acquired through more nefarious means, and identity thieves have the makings of a new identity they can use as they wish.

When there is a mass identity theft in which individuals’ total identities are stolen, such as the recent stories involving Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Time Warner and ChoicePoint database breaches, sensitive identifiers are obtained by the thieves, which can be used for a variety of reasons such as financial identity theft, criminal identity theft or terrorism. This information can be used across the world, and if they are used, the victim will face hundreds of hours of work to resolve the issue. Once they have your personal information, identity thieves use it in a variety of ways.

Credit card fraud:

  • They may open new credit card accounts in your name. When they use the cards and don’t pay the bills, the delinquent accounts appear on your credit report.
  • They may change the billing address on your credit card so that you no longer receive bills, and then run up charges on your account. Because your bills are now sent to a different address, it may be some time before you realize there’s a problem.

Phone or utilities fraud:

  • They may open a new phone or wireless account in your name, or run up charges on your existing account.
  • They may use your name to get utility services like electricity, heating, or cable TV.

Bank/finance fraud:

  • They may create counterfeit checks using your name or account number.
  • They may open a bank account in your name and write bad checks.
  • They may clone your ATM or debit card and make electronic withdrawals your name, draining your accounts. They may take out a loan in your name.

Government documents fraud:

  • They may get a driver’s license or official ID card issued in your name but with their picture.
  • They may use your name and Social Security number to get government benefits.
  • They may file a fraudulent tax return using your information.

Other fraud:

  • They may get a job using your Social Security number.
  • They may rent a house or get medical services using your name.
  • They may give your personal information to police during an arrest. If they don’t show up for their court date, a warrant for arrest is issued in your name.