When Dennis Zine voted to accept the easily forged Mexican Matricula Consular ID as official, he ignored the security concerns of the federal government.
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Phony IDs go high-tech, worrying police
By Scott Reeder
The Rock Island (Illinois) Argus, September 17, 2003
SPRINGFIELD -- As home computer technology becomes increasingly sophisticated, phony IDs are, too.

A federal investigation made public last week showed that it is relatively easy to use a home computer to generate birth certificates and other phony documents needed to obtain a state-issued driver's license in someone else's name.

Although Illinois driver's facilities were not a subject of the federal probe, officials here are also worried about forged documents. Not only are officials concerned about individuals using fake documents to obtain state-issued licenses, they also are concerned about credible counterfeit driver's licenses being marketed on the Internet.

Illinois driver's licenses are loaded with features designed to make them hard to duplicate. But even so, some convincing counterfeits are now on the market.

``There is a Swedish company selling IDs on the Internet that are so real it is scary,'' said Lt. Bob Wingo, of the Illinois Secretary of State Police.

In fact, there are a multitude of Internet sites that offer fake driver's licenses of varying quality.

``The biggest reason people get fake driver's licenses is to purchase alcohol underage,'' Lt. Wingo said.

Teenagers have been altering IDs in the quest for alcohol for decades, but law enforcement officials are concerned about even more insidious uses for them. In fact, Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley publicly voiced concern about terrorists exploiting the system and donning new identities.

``These terrorists are the alias among us, living openly but falsely, threatening our lives and our security. Identity theft and document fraud are far too easy to commit for us to be safe. Our national security is at stake, and our government needs to do more to protect us,'' Sen. Grassley told colleagues recently.

``We have to face the fact that drivers licenses and the Social Security number have become the de facto national identifiers,'' he said. ``Without these, you can't really function in our society. With them, you can open a bank account, buy a gun, get a credit card, take flight lessons or board an airplane.''

But illegal immigrants and criminals cashing forged checks are among the more common reasons people seek forged identification in the Quad-Cities, Moline police Detective Pablo Reyna said.

Illinois driver's licenses are protected with a holographic image, an ultraviolet coating and a universal bar code on the back.

Secret safeguards are also built into the licenses that are known mainly to law enforcement.

``Most of the fake driver's licenses we see, you can spot fairly easily,''

Lt. Wingo said.

But he is quick to add that some are quite sophisticated. And, he added, certain Web sites are offering quite credible copies.

An added challenge is ensuring that the state doesn't issue a driver's license to someone using an alias.

The recent federal probe of driver's license facilities found it relatively easy to get a driver's license issued using fabricated documents such as a forged birth certificate.

Randy Nehrt, a spokesman for Secretary of State Jesse White, said the state has taken steps to help ensure Secretary of State employees are not fooled.

Illinois now requires a valid Social Security number be presented as well as an original birth certificate. The secretary of state's office is developing a way to ensure that the Social Security number is valid before a driver's license is issued. Digital photos stored in the Secretary of State computers also allow clerks to verify an applicant's appearance before issuing a license, he said.

Millions of names are being fed into a computer in order to be able to double-check the Social Security number of each applicant. That system should be up and running next spring, said Dave Druker, of the Illinois Secretary of State's office.

Secretary of State police also are training local police agencies in methods of identifying phony driver's licenses. Lt. Wingo added officers with his agency are working with nightclub employees to teach them how to spot a fake ID.