August 5, 2020

USA: U.S. Customs And Border Patrol Seized Shipments Of Nearly 20,000 Fake Driver's Licenses At Chicago Airport So Far In 2020. Most Of The Shipments Came From Hong Kong And Mainland China.

Fox5 News, New York City local
written by Arun Kristian Das
Wednesday July 29, 2020

NEW YORK - Advances in technology may have made counterfeiting more difficult but crooks keep finding a way to stay in business.

In fact, federal customs officers have seized 1,513 shipments from overseas containing fraudulent documents—19,888 counterfeit U.S. driver's licenses—just at Chicago O'Hare International Airport this year through the end of June.

Most of the shipments came from Hong Kong and mainland China, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Other shipments came from South Korea and the U.K.

"These counterfeit driver's licenses can lead to disastrous consequences," CBP's Ralph Piccirilli said in a statement. "Criminal organizations use these counterfeit IDs to avoid attracting attention to their illegal activities."

CBP said most of the fake IDs were for college-age students. Many had the same photo but different names. But one alarming discovery was that the barcode on the fake Michigan licenses actually worked, CBP said.

"These fraudulent identity documents can lead to identity theft, worksite enforcement, critical infrastructure protection, fraud linked to immigration-related crimes such as human smuggling and human trafficking," CBP said in a news release, adding that, "these documents can be used by those individuals associated with terrorism to minimize scrutiny from travel screening measures."

Piccirilli, the acting area port director in Chicago, called the counterfeits "very realistic" and praised the officers for being able to scope out the fake documents and stop them from getting to the buyers.

In April, CBP said that customs officers at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport were seeing an increase in shipments of fake documents. Officers inspecting international shipments had found about 2,000 fake IDs in the prior year and a half.

Dallas Area Port Director Timothy Lemaux pointed out that fake IDs also pose a risk to the buyer regardless of your intentions because you're giving out your personal information to criminals overseas.

"What is most disconcerting about these interceptions, besides the volume in which we are experiencing, is the ease in which so many young people freely share their personal information with counterfeiters abroad," Lemaux said in a statement. "We'll continue to collaborate with local law enforcement to educate the public, and anyone who is contemplating purchasing a counterfeit ID online, on the potential dangers of sharing your personal, identifiable information with a criminal element."
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol
written by Staff
Monday July 27, 2020

CHICAGO–Fraudulent driver’s licenses, which are used for criminal activity or fraud, continue to be found by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the International Mail Facility (IMF) at Chicago O’Hare International Airport.

Since the beginning of the year to June 30, CBP officers at the IMF have seized 1,513 shipments with fraudulent documents- a total of 19,888 counterfeit US drivers’ licenses. The majority of these shipments were arriving from China and Hong Kong, with other seized shipments arriving from Great Britain and South Korea.

The driver’s licenses were for various people in different states with a vast majority destined for neighboring states. Most were for college-age students, and other licenses would share the same picture but have different biographical data. Another concern was the bar code attached to the Michigan licenses worked.

These fraudulent identity documents can lead to identity theft, worksite enforcement, critical infrastructure protection, fraud linked to immigration-related crimes such as human smuggling and human trafficking, and these documents can be used by those individuals associated with terrorism to minimize scrutiny from travel screening measures.

“These counterfeit driver’s licenses can lead to disastrous consequences,” said Ralph Piccirilli, Acting Area Port Director, Chicago. “Criminal organizations use these counterfeit IDs to avoid attracting attention to their illegal activities. Our CBP officers were able to identify these very realistic counterfeits and stop them from reaching their destinations.”

CBP Officers coordinate findings with CBP’s Fraudulent Document Analysis Unit, Homeland Security Investigations and other federal partners in an effort to combat this illicit activity.

CBP routinely conducts inspection operations on arriving and departing international flights and intercepts narcotics, weapons, currency, prohibited agriculture products, counterfeit goods, and other illicit items at our nation’s 328 international ports of entry.

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U.S. Customs and Border Patrol

On July 31, 1789, the U.S. Congress passed the third of three acts that provided for administering customs tariffs and collecting duties. Earlier on the nation’s birthday, the Tariff Act of July 4, 1789, had been passed by Congress followed by the Duties on Tonnage statute on July 20. And on the last day of the month, Congress established customs districts. Administration of customs laws was placed under the secretary of the Treasury by an act of September 2, 1789.

Fiscal administration of customs laws fell under the comptroller of the Treasury from 1792 until the creation of the position of commissioner of Customs by an act of March 3, 1849. These commissioners served as more as auditors of accounts than administrators. The position of commissioner was abolished on July 31, 1894.

In 1875, the Division of Customs was created in the Treasury Department by an act of March 3, 1875 and the position of chief was created to administer the division. Fifty-three years later, the division and the Special Agency Service of the Treasury Department were consolidated to form the Bureau of Customs in 1927. A re-envisioned commissioner of customs position was created as the chief administrator of the bureau.

The Customs Bureau was renamed the U.S. Customs Service in 1973. U.S. Customs was dissolved in 2003 with the newly created Bureau of Customs and Border Protection assuming many of its former roles and responsibilities.

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