DMV wont give you a drivers license? But it sounds like these criminals went a little too far. Why do all that work and risk getting caught when any terrorist knows you can make your own license at home with photoshop? Original Article Wednesday, March 09, 2005 Copyright Las Vegas Review-Journal Authorities warn of consequences of DMV break-in If criminals fashion IDs that look genuine, considerable damage could occur, police say By OMAR SOFRADZIJA REVIEW-JOURNAL Las Vegas police Lt. Steve Franks fears the theft of 1,700 blank Nevada driver's licenses could ruin the financial lives of many Southern Nevadans. "Everybody counts on the validity of government-issued IDs," Franks said Tuesday. "There's going to be a lot of damage done with this." With identity theft running rampant in the Las Vegas Valley, Franks fears that personal information pilfered from elsewhere could be mated to the blanks, creating an ID card that is virtually indistinguishable from a real one. Those illegally minted IDs could be used to open bank accounts and raid existing bank accounts, cash checks, open lines of credit, rent cars, buy plane tickets and pass through security checkpoints, all under an oblivious victim's name. The consequences to victims could be everything from drained checking accounts and wrecked credit ratings to arrests on warrants for crimes committed by the identity thief. "If I can get information on your date of birth, Social Security number, I put everything to match you (on an ID), but with my face," said Franks, part of the Las Vegas police financial crimes bureau. The blank licenses, along with an equal number of laminated covers with state seals, a digital license camera, a desktop computer and a license printer were taken Monday after thieves rammed a truck into a Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles bureau at 4110 Donovan Way in North Las Vegas. DMV officials initially said the equipment would largely be useless to criminals because much of it won't work unless connected to the department's mainframe computer in Carson City. That means the personal information of licensed drivers should be safe. However, officials concede the camera and printer could be configured to churn out IDs that appear genuine. "Sure, it's possible," said Kevin Malone, a DMV spokesman. "The equipment is readily available, though the cards and laminates are not. Even if they do make driver's licenses out of them, it will still be a fake ID with no record to back it up." But few businesses and government agencies actually check the record behind an ID, according to Franks. And identity theft is no idle threat in Nevada, which ranks second nationally for identity thefts per capita. About 5,000 Las Vegans are victimized each year by identity thieves, who break into businesses to steal client information, pilfer checks and deposit slips, and look for receipts and bank statements by rummaging through trash or breaking into mailboxes. Franks attributes the crime's popularity here to the quick turnover of residents, the constant influx of tourists and the massive flow of money through the valley; a tempting threesome for crooks seeking opportunity. "When you have 34 million visitors and the amount of money that's being spent here, it's an absolute gold mine for criminals," he said. A quality false driver's license is invaluable in furthering such crimes because the cards have become the ubiquitous trusted ID of choice in the private and public sectors. On the black market, such IDs can cost $250 to $500 apiece, according to Franks. Identity thieves could use the ID in concert with stolen or forged bank documents to cash bad checks or make withdrawals from accounts, or to offer a believable alias when arrested, allowing them to skip bail with the consequences falling on an unsuspecting ID theft victim. "That's the insidiousness of ID theft," Franks said. "It'll all get cleared up eventually, but will it be after you spend a week in jail?" A thief can trade in a fake license for a real one in another state with a reciprocal exchange program, if thorough background checks are not done, Franks said. Likewise, police wouldn't be able to detect an ill-gotten ID unless a driver's record is closely scrutinized for inconsistencies that could reveal a stolen identity. For example, an identity thief who is a white male and 6 feet tall might have put their photo, height and weight on a license printed in the name of a Hispanic male who is 5 feet tall, and whose real DMV records indicate such. "Sex and race, a lot of times people don't look at those categories," Franks said. Because identity theft is so hard to detect, the typical victim doesn't know their identity has been compromised until three years after the fact, Franks said. Malone said the DMV is looking at upgrading security at its bureaus around the state, but he declined to get into specifics. "We are taking a few steps I'd rather not disclose," he said. "We're not telling the bad guys what we're doing. We're tightening it up a little bit." http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/11084533.htm Posted on Tue, Mar. 08, 2005 1,700 blank licenses stolen from Nev. DMV Associated Press NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. - Thieves rammed a vehicle through the back wall of a Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles office and stole 1,700 blank driver's licenses. "This could be anything from a bunch of juveniles who want to be able to make IDs to buy beer, to major criminal activity or even terrorism," police spokesman Tim Bedwell said Tuesday. "We don't know what they took them for." The theft occurred early Monday in a remote industrial area, authorities said. The thieves took blank licenses and laminated covers, a digital license camera, a camera computer and a license printer, DMV spokesman Kevin Malone said. The equipment would not work without a connection to the DMV's mainframe computer, Malone said. "It would be very, very difficult to break the encryption," he said. However, the officials said false information could be placed on blank licenses and covered with authentic laminates and holographic seals, making the fake licenses indistinguishable from the real thing. "It's been pondered that this has national security interests," Bedwell said. "But it's easier to pass a fake ID to a teller than to use it to get on a plane and fly internationally." http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nevada/2005/mar/08/030810018.html March 08, 2005 Thieves smash into Nevada DMV office, take blank licenses ASSOCIATED PRESS NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. (AP) - Authorities said they fear identity thieves were behind the smash-and-grab theft of 1,700 blank driver's licenses from a Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles office. "This could be anything from a bunch of juveniles who want to be able to make IDs to buy beer to major criminal activity or even terrorism," Tim Bedwell, North Las Vegas police spokesman, said Tuesday. "We don't know what they took them for." The blank licenses, with laminated covers and license-making equipment, were taken after a vehicle rammed through the back wall of a DMV office at the end of a road in a remote industrial area about 1 a.m. Monday. "It appears they knew what they wanted," Bedwell said. "We got the alarm and responded, but by the time we got there they were gone." DMV spokesman Kevin Malone said Tuesday that along with blank licenses and laminated covers, a digital license camera, a camera computer and a license printer were taken. The equipment contained no driver information, and would not work without a connection to the DMV's mainframe computer in Carson City, Malone said. He added that the computer link was designed to thwart hacking. "It would be very, very difficult to break the encryption," he said. However, the officials said false information could be placed on blank licenses and covered with authentic laminates and holographic seals, making the fake licenses indistinguishable from real licenses. With enough other personal information, an identity thief could use the card to cash checks or open bank accounts in someone else's name. "It's been pondered that this has national security interests," Bedwell said. "But it's easier to pass a fake ID to a teller than to use it to get on a plane and fly internationally." http://www.klastv.com/Global/story.asp?S=3049037&nav=168YXFpQ Cindy Cesare, Reporter DMV Says Personal Information Was Not Stolen March 8, 2005, 08:54 PM MST Email to a Friend Printer Friendly Version DMV Says Personal Information Was Not Stolen Click here to contact Reporter Cindy Cesare. The DMV is taking steps to prevent identity theft and future burglaries after a brazen break-in Monday. Thieves crashed their vehicle into the DMV on Craig and Donovan and stole equipment to make fake IDs. The area is all boarded up right now but the thieves went inside a break room and then stole equipment to make over a thousand fake IDs. Now the DMV is contacting other agencies to warn them about the theft. The computer printer, camera, blank license cards and enough Nevada seal laminates to make 1,700 Nevada driver's licenses were stolen from a desk. Nevada DMV says that the thieves will not be able to access already issued Nevada drivers license information from the computer. But if the thieves can access your information by other means they could steal your identity. DMV customer Eric Jensen was concerned enough about the stolen equipment to inquire about future security at the North Las Vegas DMV. "We just asked them, inside due to the theft, would they have cameras? And she said possibly. She didn't know, but I would think it would be a good idea. They have cameras everywhere else in town -- every hotel, convenience store, so why not here at the DMV?" The DMV will not be specific about what security measure will occur. An armed security guard is already at all DMV's during the day but they say that removing the equipment and locking it up every night would not be realistic because of all the wiring. North Las Vegas Police say the only way to really catch these criminals who stole the equipment is to wait for the counterfeits to show up on the streets. The Nevada DMV has sent out warnings across the country. "We have notified the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, which is an umbrella organization for DMV's, and they will let the DMV's across the country know. We're also in the process of sending out a bulletin through the National Law Enforcement Telecommunication System," said DMV spokesperson Kevin Malone. That national telecommunications system will inform police agencies around the country, as well as the federal government about this ID theft, so they can be on the lookout for fradulent Nevada drivers' licenses. In order to spot a fake ID made on this equipment, police say they would have to do a background search to determine if the photo matches the history of the license. This would make it extremely difficult to track down The Nevada Department of Homeland Security was not informed about the potential for identity fraud until Channel 8 Eyewitness News called them Monday