'I' has been stolen

[tw]

The Marchese owned the Norristown Honda dealer. They sold that and bought a Chevy dealer in Royersford. Then they opened a used car lot on Ridge Pike in Limerick across from the Limerick Diner. Many who applied for credit in case they bought a car instead found the car they were fully paid up on was repossessed. It is called Identity Theft. In America, you have no means of protecting your identity or confirming your integrity. This is just one example of what is becoming a fastest growing crime:
http://www.pottsmerc.com/site/news.c...id=18041&rfi=6
This article only discusses the fraud commited to the loan company. KYW newsradio says it went much farther resulting in automobile confiscation for people who did not even buy a car from Marchese:
http://www.kyw1060.com/news_story_de...wsitemid=26591

Yesterday is this letter about a Navy sailor who was arrested for five hours because someone has been using his name in crimes all over the country. Problem is, because we have no Identity Confirmation and Protection system, he does not know how many other states may issue warrants for his arrest. He has no way of stopping someone from committing crimes in his name. He has not way of avoiding arrest until his identity is confirmed - 5 hours later:
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/n...l1/4905473.htm

... our son was stopped for a minor traffic offense. When police checked his name, it was listed as an alias for a person with outstanding warrants. After a five-hour stay at the police station, our son was finally released, ...

[russotto]

This is easy to solve, simply implant a government-guaranteed-unique microchip in everyone's forehead, and a reader in everyone's palm.

[tw]

Verificaton chips will not help and avoids the fundamental problem. Key to a national identity system is a method so that you can both verify who you are AND confirm that no one else has stolen your identify. Current, bought and paid for, politicians will not even discuss the problem let alone submit solutions.

Demonstrated is that identity theft leaves almost innumeral ways to steal an identity, and multiple parties can become victims or innocent third party victims. If that was not enough, the KYW and Pottstown Mercury have two different versions of the same crime - suggesting how difficult identify theft is currently investigated or even identified (no pun intended).

Now the Philly Inquirer finally has a story on the same crime - with again, a different story:
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/4945078.htm

This time is was just the son who ran the used car lot in Limerick across from the diner - not to be confused with the Chevy dealer in Royersford that was also a family business.

Are you wanted for bad checks or buglary in another state? You are currently not allowed to find out until you are arrested there. Currently, you are not allowed to know if anyone is passing bad checks in your name - running bank accounts using your identity. Welcome to American where fears of privacy permit anyone to destroy your good name. Like spam of years ago, identity theft has not even started yet.

[tw]

As if identity theft was not rampant enough. Beer distributors in PA will not longer accept NJ driver's licenses as proof of 21. NJ licenses are that often counterfeit. But then a driver's license was never intended to be a proof of identity. Driver's licenses are used for identity proof only because we have functional ID system - and not intent to create one.

[elSicomoro]

Originally posted by tw
As if identity theft was not rampant enough. Beer distributors in PA will not longer accept NJ driver's licenses as proof of 21.

1--Why would anyone from NJ buy beer in PA anyway?

2--From what I heard on the news last week, NJ is issuing new DLs soon, though it will be 2006 before everyone has them.

[tw]

Originally posted by sycamore
1--Why would anyone from NJ buy beer in PA anyway?

People with counterfeit NJ driver's licenses are from every state and who knows how many counties. If terrorist were competent, then they would be using counterfeit drivers licenses to routinely fly planes everywhere. Maybe they are - because identity theft is that difficult to detect.

One need not ever been to NJ to have a counterfeit NJ driver's license. That's the point. Information on that license cannot be confirmed except by law enforcement and only if a crime is suspected - because America has no system so that you can verify and protect identity.

Driver's licenses were never intended to be proof of identity. Yet a MD girl had her good name used by a Bush twin to illegally buy alcohol across country - even with Secret Service agents right there as identity theft was happening directly before them. Identity theft is that easy.

There is no system to verify or protect identity AND there is no intention of creating a system. Current administration would spend $millions to create another layer of bureacracy - Office of Fatherland Security. It would spend $millions more to intrude further into your privacy. But administration lets any terrorist or criminal steal anyone's identity - by complete inaction.

[vsp]

Originally posted by tw
As if identity theft was not rampant enough. Beer distributors in PA will not longer accept NJ driver's licenses as proof of 21. NJ licenses are that often counterfeit. But then a driver's license was never intended to be a proof of identity. Driver's licenses are used for identity proof only because we have functional ID system - and not intent to create one.

So... just for the sake of argument, what _can_ NJ residents use to prove that they're 21, or are they arbitrarily barred from buying beer in PA?

(Given the rest of our state's laws regarding alcohol, the latter wouldn't surprise me. What's one more oddity on the books?)

[elSicomoro]

Tw, my first question was really a joke...I know you have a humor bone in your body somewhere.

vsp, I thought about that myself. It seems to me that the only things that could work are:

1--Pray to God that they don't ask for ID
2--A military ID
3--Take yourself right back across the Delaware

[richlevy]

Originally posted by tw

Yesterday is this letter about a Navy sailor who was arrested for five hours because someone has been using his name in crimes all over the country. Problem is, because we have no Identity Confirmation and Protection system, he does not know how many other states may issue warrants for his arrest. He has no way of stopping someone from committing crimes in his name. He has not way of avoiding arrest until his identity is confirmed - 5 hours later:
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/n...l1/4905473.htm

He's doing better than the guy who was arrested for desertion by the Marines, held for days (weeks?) and allegedly abused by other inmates in what turned out to be a case of identity theft.

[Powder]

What about a 'tattoo' barcode for identification purposes? You might think someone could alter it slighlty and thus, an absolute fluke of an idea to begin with. But there would be another one somewhere else to include the individual's full name and date of birth.

Did you know that you can now design your own temporary tattoos these days, and print them up for yourself on a special film through your very own printer? I think that is way cool, they sell it along with the t-shirt paper for about ten bucks at office depot.

[99 44/100% pure]

Originally posted by Powder
What about a 'tattoo' barcode for identification purposes?

Sorry, as long as there are people alive who have first or second-hand memories of Treblinka or Auschwitz, I don't think state-mandated tattoos of any sort, for any purpose, will fly with the general population.

Retinal scanning, on the other hand, may bear some further investigation. Imagine the crimes possible, as some bandit approaches an ATM with some poor schlepp's disgorged eyeball appended to his forehead, extorted PIN at the ready . . .

[perth]

magine the crimes possible, as some bandit approaches an ATM with some poor schlepp's disgorged eyeball appended to his forehead, extorted PIN at the ready . . .

i dont know if it was intentional, but that statement makes the title of this thread a bit more interesting.

~james

[99 44/100% pure]

Thank you. I have my moments.

[Griff]

Lol, now we begin to understand some of the Hubris stories.