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Cases analysed
Douwe Brongers (1945) spent nearly 40 years with Postbank and ING in the Netherlands (he last held the position of Fraud Prevention Advisor). Douwe became involved in document fraud prevention in the early seventies, following the emergence of several international cheque frauds. Since then, he has advised senior management on the development of new payment products. Douwe has invented several practical security features, two of which are patented.
Cases analysed
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anyone caught using them. Besides, as Finor points out, the ease with which genuine passports can be obtained has undermined the market for fake or forged documents. Finor additionally offers ghost passports identity documents that are issued in the name of recently deceased persons. In respect of certain countries, Finor offers an intermediary service that allows you to obtain a ghost passport containing your photograph. In other words, the document is completely genuine. We also visited the site of the Espionage Store (www.espionage-store.com/fakepassports.html). The site starts by setting out how useful a second passport can be. According to the Espionage Store, such passports can, for example, be used to gain the upper hand in hijack situations, to avoid the possible misuse of your real passport by hotel staff, and to shield your identity (particularly useful if you are wealthy). After completing a simple form, agreeing conditions of sale indemnifying the selling party against legal liability, and paying a USD 400 fee, you will receive a British Honduras passport issued in a name of your choice. We next visited the site of Expat World (www.expatworld.org/products.htm), which offers a special Afro Project. Prices are highly un-African, and range from USD 4,500 to more than USD 80,000. Expat World nevertheless asserts that it offers the cheapest camouflage passports, which can be sourced from fourteen different countries. Expat World additionally sells press cards, anonymous savings products, secret postal addresses and university degrees. A bachelors degree costs USD 250 while a doctorate will set you back USD 600. How to graduate from Trinity University with honour(s) is not altogether clear. The proprietors of EscapeArtist appear to have a sense of humour (www.escapeartist.com/efam2/ Alternative_Citizenships.htm). The site starts by reminding visitors that obtaining a passport is
tantamount to obtaining citizenship. However, as EscapeArtist explains, there are passports pastures that were deliberately left unexplored or undiscussed because they are not front door programs. It goes on to accuse several governments of being perfectly willing to grant instant discretionary citizenships to Olympic athletes or high-level defectors or whomever it deems worthy of the privilege. Like other outfits, EscapeArtist offers ID documents from countries like Grenada, Dominica and St Kitts & Nevis. Prices vary between USD 54,000 and USD 75,000. One thing that caught our eye was a warning, advising potential buyers that a regime change could result in existing privileges being revoked. The site concludes by stating that there are a host of alternative citizenships available that may be more affordable and more useful than front door programs and for persons whose credentials are not impeccable or whose pockets are not full, these programs can mean the difference between slavery and freedom. Our search subsequently took us to the site of PTClub (http://ptclub.com/identity.html). This organisation, which trades in second identities, introduced us to a term that we had not previously come across: the bullshit ID. As the site explains: if you are obviously a foreigner and carry an official-looking card with a photo on it, you can bullshit your way out of 99% of potential difficult situations. The company specialises in press cards, which not only allow you to (sort of) proof your identity, but also entitle you to a number of fringe benefits, including free food and drinks at sports events. Unfortunately the press card can only be issued if you become a member of the Association of Journalists, which can be arranged for an annual fee of USD 500. While surfing, we also came across one site (www.flyvision.org/ids/ariza/fakeid.html) that was kind enough to offer some remarkable advice: Be very careful when purchasing fake identity documents. Dont believe all the advertising hype. Most of the fake ID out there is of very poor quality. This stuff is so bad that some of the fake drivers licences Ive seen look like they were created by children and so have no real value whatever.
Conclusion
As our brief investigation has shown, it is not particularly difficult for terrorists, criminals and tax evaders to obtain an identity of their choice, supported by genuine ID documents. After all, money is no object to these people. There is nothing you can do to detect genuine passports that have been sold by an official via the backdoor. It does, however, demonstrate that those who inspect such passports should be extra vigilant, even when inspecting passports from reputable countries.
Keesings Journal of Documents, issue 2, 2003