Decomposing bodies makes Tsunami area ripe for identity crisis!

Monday January 3, 2005 — Calgary, Canada — In the last 3 months of 2004, counterfeit identification such as passports, drivers licenses, birth certificates, visas, and identity cards, were used by individuals to avoid detection when committing a wide range of activities including acts of terrorism, fraud and theft. Surveying more than 560 acts of terrorism and criminal activity which resulted in losses of $356,665,933 USD, more than 15% of the incidents were linked to counterfeit identification.

The most common forms of counterfeit identification used are:

• Drivers Licenses (28%)
• Other government issued identification (21%)
• Passports (17%)
• Social Security Cards (11%)
• Birth Certificates (10%)
• Visas (5%)
• Green cards, immigration documents, death certificates and permanent residency cards (8%)

In commenting on current counterfeit activity, Glen Gieschen, Counterfeit Intelligence Analyst for Gieschen Consultancy stated, "Recent natural disasters, such as the hurricanes in Florida have proven themselves a breeding ground for identity theft and fraud, which are easily performed with the use of counterfeit identification.

Imagine a person claiming to be Tsunami aid worker promising financial assistance begins asking victims for personal details, including bank account information if available, and taking copies of any identification. This type of scenario occurred recently in Florida where criminals were posing as FEMA aid workers to gather information which could then be used to counterfeit ID, obtain breeder documents such as drivers licenses or birth certificates, set up false bank accounts, and perpetrate other illegal activities.

Now imagine a terrorist or criminal travels to a disaster area claiming they were a victim of the Tsunami for the purpose of obtaining government identification such a passports, drivers license or birth certificate. Given the number of people killed and identity documents lost or destroyed, a tremendous amount of time will be spent reissuing identification, which makes the task of verifying each persons identity difficult.

Finally, as a result of the tremendous amount of personal debris distributed from the Tsunami, someone could easily search and collect these documents for later use, alteration or resale on the black market. Reports have already surfaced of identity documents such as passports being washed up on beaches.

As was the case in 9/11 and the bombings in Spain where counterfeit identification was found to have prevented the detection of several terrorists, it may take weeks or months before any links between the Tsunami in Asia and identity theft and fraud are discovered."

About Gieschen Consultancy

Gieschen Consultancy, provides counterfeit intelligence analysis and security research relating to documents, products and intellectual property. Gieschen Consultancy educates clients regarding counterfeiting issues, and assists in developing anti-counterfeiting, brand protection and enforcement solutions. Providing the knowledge of the criminal Modus Operandi (methods of operation), legal and political issues, security technology, industry reports and statistical information, effective strategies can then be developed, implemented and monitored.

For more information visit http://www.gieschen.com/.

Contacts

Glen Gieschen
Managing Director
Gieschen Consultancy
Glen@Gieschen.com
Phone 403-256-5680
Calgary, Alberta Canada