What is Passport Identity Theft?   

For many of us, a passport is the gateway to paradise.  It is that identifying document that allows you to legally cross borders throughout the world.  Considering how important a passport is, it is natural that such an essential document has become a prime target for many identity thieves.

From fiction to reality

Highlighting the dangers of passport identity theft, an author by the name of Frederick Forsyth wrote a book entitled, "The Jackel."  The story evolves around an assassin who seeks out the identity of a person around his age who died as a child.  After finding information about the deceased victim, the assassin applies for a passport in their name.  This book was written long before the widespread use of computers and technology as we know it today.  The evolution of electronic data has made it much easier for authorities to check for validation with the ability to match dates for births and deaths.  This technology has closed many of the loopholes mentioned in Forsyth's book. 

On the other hand, all of these loopholes have not been closed to creative identity thieves.  There has been word of alleged attempts from imposters using Forsyth's fictional approach by trying to issue fraudulent passports in New Zealand.  The plot consisted of thieving the identity of a disabled individual who is very unlikely to apply for a passport.  After spotting a victim, the thieves would complete a routine passport application in that person's name without their knowledge. 

Believe it or not, a black market exists in many countries that thrives on using passports to steal identities.  A large part of the motivation revolves around illegal immigration and other criminal activity.  Because of this growing problem, authority agencies across the globe have worked steadily to improve the process of issuing passports.  These efforts were also enforced due to the numerous terrorists threats and incidents that have occurred over recent years.  Several countries now insert data chips inside of biometric passports, along with other modifications to the designing and verification procedures.