Posted on: Friday, December 3, 2004
State-of-the-art fake-ID 'factories' uncovered
| • | Minimize your risk |
By Peter Boylan
Advertiser Staff Writer
State and federal law enforcement officers have uncovered four of the largest and most elaborate fake-ID "factories" ever on O'ahu and are urging the public to safeguard personal information for the holiday season, the perfect time for thieves to steal identities.
"Hawai'i is ripe for the pickings," said Capt. Ed Nishi, head of the Honolulu Police Department's Property Crime Division. He spoke at a news conference yesterday. "People see this as an easy way to make money. This is the crime of choice right now." The four "fraud factories" were found by patrol officers and detectives with the Honolulu Police Department's financial crimes unit in Waikiki hotel rooms and other locations in Waikiki and the downtown area during October and November. Based on the evidence recovered from the sites, police said that hundreds of people were victims.
Police said they are working to determine if the four sites were independently run operations or if they were working together.
"There was just so much stuff (evidence from the four sites) that we are still sifting through," said Lt. Pat Tomasu, head of HPD's Financial Fraud Unit.
Each factory was equipped with laptops, scanners, digital cameras, plastic card printers, laminating machines, paper cutters and file folders filled with stolen personal information like Social Security, bank account, and credit card numbers.
The factories churned out hundreds of fake Hawai'i driver's licenses, state identification cards, personal checks and, in at least one instance, a Costco card. Police also found evidence that crooks were trying to duplicate U.S. and foreign passports.
"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.
Personal information, such as Social Security and bank account numbers, is stolen from mail, store receipts, Internet purchases, thefts, car break-ins and burglaries.
The thieves print the stolen information onto fake IDs that feature their pictures, creating an ID to match the stolen credit card or the counterfeit check.
Police declined to disclose the number of people arrested in connection with the factories nor would they say how many similar setups have been found this year or in recent years.
Yesterday, police displayed more than $13,000 worth of equipment confiscated recently and said that investigations are aimed at identifying key figures in all four operations.
One of the problems with stopping the spread of such operations is that anyone with basic computer skills, access to equipment, and personal information can start up a "fraud factory."
Most of the material needed to make fake IDs and counterfeit checks, from the plastic cards to the "Hawai'i" holograms, can be bought at office supply stores and over the Internet, police said.
"Unless you absolutely know what you're looking for they can pass" for the real thing, said U.S. Secret Service Assistant Special Agent in Charge Rick Walkinshaw.
According to figures from the Federal Trade Commission and Honolulu police:
In July, President Bush signed into law the Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement Act. The measure imposes mandatory prison terms for criminals who use identity theft in committing terrorist acts and other offenses. A criminal serves an extra five years for using a false passport in connection with a terrorism-related crime. Two years are tacked on for ID theft in connection with other types of crimes.
Reach Peter Boylan at 535-8110 or pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com. While you probably can't prevent identity theft entirely, you can minimize your risk, the Federal Trade Commission says. By managing your personal information wisely, cautiously and with an awareness of the issue, you can help guard against identity theft. What you can do today: Order a copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus. Your credit report contains information on where you work and live, the credit accounts that have been opened in your name, how you pay your bills and whether you've been sued, arrested or filed for bankruptcy. Make sure it's accurate and includes only those activities you've authorized. How to contact the bureaus: • Equifax — www.equifax.com. To order your report, call: 800-685-1111 or write: P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241 • Experian — www.experian.com. To order your report, call: 888-EXPERIAN (397-3742) or write: P.O. Box 2002, Allen, TX 75013 • Trans Union — www.transunion.com. To order your report, call: 800-888-4213 or write: P.O. Box 1000, Chester, PA 19022 Place passwords on your credit card, bank and phone accounts. Avoid using easily available information like your mother's maiden name, your birth date, the last four digits of your SSN or your phone number, or a series of consecutive numbers. When opening new accounts, you may find that many businesses still have a line on their applications for your mother's maiden name. Use a password instead. Secure personal information in your home, especially if you have roommates, employ outside help or are having service work done in your home. Ask about information security procedures in your workplace. Find out who has access to your personal information and verify that records are kept in a secure location. Ask about the disposal procedures for those records as well. If you think your identity has been stolen: • Contact the fraud departments of any one of the three major credit bureausÊto place a fraud alert on your credit file. The fraud alert requests creditors to contact you before opening any new accounts or making any changes to your existing accounts. As soon as the credit bureau confirms your fraud alert, the other two credit bureaus will be automatically notified to place fraud alerts, and all three credit reports will be sent to you free of charge. • Close the accounts that you know or believe have been tampered with or opened fraudulently. Use the ID Theft Affidavit when disputing new unauthorized accounts. • File a police report. Get a copy of the report to submit to your creditors and others that may require proof of the crime. • File your complaint with the FTC. The FTC maintains a database of identity theft cases used by law enforcement agencies for investigations. Filing a complaint also helps them learn more about identity theft and the problems victims are having so that authorities can better assist you. For more information, go to www.consumer.gov/idtheft/ Source: Federal Trade Commission
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