Are US passport cards a common form of ID used by identity thieves?
Oct 25, 2016, 4:25 am
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Are US passport cards a common form of ID used by identity thieves?
Originally Posted by Article
...... “there is a lot of fraud activity around our location” and employees were warned to be on the lookout for customers using US passport cards as they are a common form of ID used by identity thieves to make fraudulent purchases.
Are passport cards really more of a common form of ID used by identity thieves for fraudulent purposes than driver licenses?
I've never had problems using my passport card as ID during travel except in rare circumstances when dealing with the TSA travel document/ID checkers.
Oct 25, 2016, 4:55 am
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People have been coming up with fake driver's licenses for decades, well before there was such a thing as a passport card. Other than the referenced article that's the first I've heard of fake passport cards but I'm not surprised. Thieves are inventive folk and give them enough time and the resources and they'll come up with a fake whatever if they think they can get away with it. I'm guessing mechants are less familiar with passport cards and maybe the fakes are convincing so thieves will use those as long as they can. Well before any notion of REAL ID states were, and still are, in a constant battle to make their driver's licenses harder to fake and are often one step behind resourceful thieves. Guess we can add passport cards to the list.
Oct 25, 2016, 5:31 am
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People have been coming up with fake driver's licenses for decades, well before there was such a thing as a passport card. Other than the referenced article that's the first I've heard of fake passport cards but I'm not surprised. Thieves are inventive folk and give them enough time and the resources and they'll come up with a fake whatever if they think they can get away with it. I'm guessing mechants are less familiar with passport cards and maybe the fakes are convincing so thieves will use those as long as they can. Well before any notion of REAL ID states were, and still are, in a constant battle to make their driver's licenses harder to fake and are often one step behind resourceful thieves. Guess we can add passport cards to the list.
It's just weird to me that passport cards would be seen as more susceptible for fraudulent use by identity thieves than DLs are.
Oct 25, 2016, 6:14 am
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I agree and didn't mean to imply REAL ID has had any impact on cutting down on forgeries. Where there's a will there's a way. Looking at the passport card I'd think it would be much easier to forge a driver's license but then again I have no idea what the forged passport cards look like. They may be bad forgeries but the thieves get away with it, at least initially or for now, as passport cards are not all that common or familiar to merchants. As an aside I'm rarely asked for ID for any transaction unless I'm writing a check and I rarely write checks.
Oct 25, 2016, 7:15 am
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I agree and didn't mean to imply REAL ID has had any impact on cutting down on forgeries. Where there's a will there's a way. Looking at the passport card I'd think it would be much easier to forge a driver's license but then again I have no idea what the forged passport cards look like. They may be bad forgeries but the thieves get away with it, at least initially or for now, as passport cards are not all that common or familiar to merchants. As an aside I'm rarely asked for ID for any transaction unless I'm writing a check and I rarely write checks.
Oct 25, 2016, 8:31 am
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Many clerks and just plain folk are conditioned to believe that acceptable ID must have an address on it. But then without noticing the contradiction, they will at the same time accept some employer identification (particularly when it is from a government employer). Sheeple!
Oct 25, 2016, 11:01 am
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Many clerks and just plain folk are conditioned to believe that acceptable ID must have an address on it. But then without noticing the contradiction, they will at the same time accept some employer identification (particularly when it is from a government employer). Sheeple!
Oct 25, 2016, 1:19 pm
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People have been coming up with fake driver's licenses for decades, well before there was such a thing as a passport card. Other than the referenced article that's the first I've heard of fake passport cards but I'm not surprised. Thieves are inventive folk and give them enough time and the resources and they'll come up with a fake whatever if they think they can get away with it. I'm guessing mechants are less familiar with passport cards and maybe the fakes are convincing so thieves will use those as long as they can. Well before any notion of REAL ID states were, and still are, in a constant battle to make their driver's licenses harder to fake and are often one step behind resourceful thieves. Guess we can add passport cards to the list.
Oct 26, 2016, 1:16 pm
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The quality of passport cards was never that good to begin with, and its design hasn't changed since 2010 or so. To me, it looks like the current California DL has more security features than the passport card.
The only problem for those using forged passport cards might be that store and bank clerks may simply refuse to accept the passport card as an ID -- not because they suspect it is forged but because they don't know what it is.
The only problem for those using forged passport cards might be that store and bank clerks may simply refuse to accept the passport card as an ID -- not because they suspect it is forged but because they don't know what it is.
Oct 26, 2016, 2:22 pm
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Her vision isn't up to driving so she has a non-driver's ID. At the time in question such IDs here had no expiration date. She had a questionable check so we went to the bank of issue to cash it (this was back when you weren't charged for doing so.)
Non-driver's ID? No, we can't accept this because it doesn't have an expiration date.
US Passport? I don't recall the objection but they didn't want it, just bring your driver's license! Idiot, yesterday you rejected her non-driver's ID. Anyone who has a non-driver's ID doesn't have a driver's license and almost certainly can't get one. We had to get a manager involved to get the passport accepted.
Oct 26, 2016, 11:17 pm
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My wife once had that problem with a regular passport!
Her vision isn't up to driving so she has a non-driver's ID. At the time in question such IDs here had no expiration date. She had a questionable check so we went to the bank of issue to cash it (this was back when you weren't charged for doing so.)
Non-driver's ID? No, we can't accept this because it doesn't have an expiration date.
US Passport? I don't recall the objection but they didn't want it, just bring your driver's license! Idiot, yesterday you rejected her non-driver's ID. Anyone who has a non-driver's ID doesn't have a driver's license and almost certainly can't get one. We had to get a manager involved to get the passport accepted.
Her vision isn't up to driving so she has a non-driver's ID. At the time in question such IDs here had no expiration date. She had a questionable check so we went to the bank of issue to cash it (this was back when you weren't charged for doing so.)
Non-driver's ID? No, we can't accept this because it doesn't have an expiration date.
US Passport? I don't recall the objection but they didn't want it, just bring your driver's license! Idiot, yesterday you rejected her non-driver's ID. Anyone who has a non-driver's ID doesn't have a driver's license and almost certainly can't get one. We had to get a manager involved to get the passport accepted.
My grandparents (both in their late 70s!!!) were asked for ID at a Target, they were then told that their EU driving licences wasn't good enough as they didn't have a magstripe or barcode. They then proceeded to give their passports and were again told it wasn't good enough as she'd never seen a passport before and only Canadian and US IDs were acceptable! They had to get a manager involved!
Oct 27, 2016, 2:15 am
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The quality of passport cards was never that good to begin with, and its design hasn't changed since 2010 or so. To me, it looks like the current California DL has more security features than the passport card.
The only problem for those using forged passport cards might be that store and bank clerks may simply refuse to accept the passport card as an ID -- not because they suspect it is forged but because they don't know what it is.
The only problem for those using forged passport cards might be that store and bank clerks may simply refuse to accept the passport card as an ID -- not because they suspect it is forged but because they don't know what it is.
The US passport cards are no more insecure that most US driver's licenses; rather they have more security features incorporated than most US driver's licenses from what I can tell.
Oct 27, 2016, 4:03 pm
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Only in the US is a passport not good enough for identification!
My grandparents (both in their late 70s!!!) were asked for ID at a Target, they were then told that their EU driving licences wasn't good enough as they didn't have a magstripe or barcode. They then proceeded to give their passports and were again told it wasn't good enough as she'd never seen a passport before and only Canadian and US IDs were acceptable! They had to get a manager involved!
My grandparents (both in their late 70s!!!) were asked for ID at a Target, they were then told that their EU driving licences wasn't good enough as they didn't have a magstripe or barcode. They then proceeded to give their passports and were again told it wasn't good enough as she'd never seen a passport before and only Canadian and US IDs were acceptable! They had to get a manager involved!
I know that on occasion in China I have trouble at the internet cafe using my passpoprt. The regular clerks know how to handle my passport but sometimes I find an unfamiliar one that can't figure out how to get the system to work.
Oct 27, 2016, 4:18 pm
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In addition, many business will require a second form of ID.