Fake IDs, fraud, identity theft and terrorism

State-of-the-art fake-ID 'factories' uncovered - The Honolulu Advertiser - Hawaii's Newspaper:
"'Illegal aliens and terrorists can come in and assume the identities of other people,' said Lt. Pat Tomasu, head of HPD's Financial Fraud Unit. 'They can open up accounts, finance all their cohorts, and run under the radar. That's the worst-case scenario.'
"Police recovered hundreds of fake Hawai'i driver's licenses and templates for other forms of identification cards from the four locations.
"The fake IDs can be used for all manner of illegal activity, especially financial fraud involving the cashing of someone else's check or the use of someone else's credit card number."

The terrorism implications are real and a valid area of concern. And this is one of the reasons why it remains so important to remove as many illegal aliens as possible. The 9.9 million (according to the Census Bureau) or more illegal aliens in the US help to support this thriving industry in fake IDs, they are the sea in which terrorists and serious criminals hide.

As a mere occasion of financial crime, the losses on a national scale are significant. I recall a case about ten years ago where a couple moving from motel to motel would come into a town, cash a couple thousand in checks and move on. They happened to get caught near my PA home, but the scam had gone on for quite a while. What they did was to take the name of a real business in a nearby town from the phone book. They would create a phony payroll check on a local bank using the right name and address of the business and fake account numbers on the check. The check would be printed with an attached receipt showing all the deductions for FICA, Income Tax, and so on. And the net amount would be something that looked reasonable for a week's pay. They would also print up photo ID for the company with their pictures. Then they would go to a grocery store at a busy time. Go through checkout with over a $100 in groceries and present their payroll check and ID, even maiking a show of tearing off the with-holding information stub. In some cases they even had counterfeit preferred customer check cashing cards for the supermarket chain. The harried clerks would glance at the ID, process the check and hand back three or four hundred dollars change in cash. If you keep moving and don't get greedy, this sort of crime may go on for years. And notice that it doesn't require any computer hacking or dumpster diving for personal information as you read about in identity theft cases.