Fake IDs a bigger issue than underage drinking: Column Chinese vendors of counterfeit drivers licenses pose threat to our safety.

Max Bluestein | USATODAY

Two years ago, this newspaper published an article about high-quality counterfeit U.S. driver's licenses being manufactured in China and sold for as little as $50 a piece to American customers. Hidden inside of cheap Chinese toys, these documents were good enough to fool even the experts. That article combined with a bipartisan letter from four U.S. Senators citing national security risks led to the shutdown of the biggest Chinese counterfeit ID vendor, IDChief. Unfortunately, a number of other vendors have filled the vacuum since.

The reason for IDChief's success was twofold. First, it made a high quality product that was cheap and expedient. IDChief offered counterfeit IDs of over 20 different states(see graf 7) that could pass most ID checkers and many scanners and could ship to U.S. customers within days. With such ease of access, the flood of these IDs was getting out of control and at one point, one law enforcement source estimated that 75% of fake IDs in the U.S. were coming from IDChief.The second reason is that IDChief operated with complete impunity from within China. It had a Facebook page, a Twitter account and actively posted sales, promotions and specials advertising its illicit products. Chinese law enforcement ignored the operation for years and U.S. law enforcement agencies were powerless out of their jurisdictions. Only when IDChief gained media and congressional attention was the Chinese government responsive. ​

However, IDChief's shutdown left a supply vacuum with millions of potential consumers. Other Chinese sites sprung up with even higher quality IDs. Sites like IDGod, for example. It advertises sales, specials and new products publicly on the internet. It has direct Q and A with its customers on open forums. It responds publicly to feedback. Its "stealth," a term of art for how the IDs are hidden in packaging, is nearly undetectable. Its feature product, the Connecticut driver's license, has effectively replicated even the oak tree watermark, one of the most relied upon security features for ID checkers. Suffice to say, IDGod is IDChief 2.0.

The ease of access to these documents is clear, but the widespread proliferation is difficult to gauge. From October 2013 to September 2014, 4,585 counterfeits IDs originating from China were intercepted at Kennedy International Airport. While more Chinese counterfeits are seized every month, many simply slip through. The counterfeit Connecticut license has become so popular that many shops, including some Giant grocery stores, have initiated policies requiring secondary identification when presented with Connecticut IDs.

These IDs are not just used for underage drinking. Driver's licenses are the preferred form of identification in the United States and are used for a whole host of purposes, including opening a bank account, obtaining a United States Passport, boarding an airplane and verifying identity for employment. That is what makes them such a valuable document and why the senators cited IDChief as a national security check. They are sought after by identity thieves, habitual drunk drivers, convicted felons seeking guns and even terrorists. To make matters worse, these Chinese companies also victimize the customers, harvesting their pictures and personal data and selling it to identity thieves.

This week, Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson is meeting with his Chinese counterparts to discuss matters of cybersecurity and counterterrorism. Secretary Johnson should use this opportunity to engage the Chinese about these counterfeit ID vendors and extend the international cooperation that led to the takedown of IDChief against its successors. Secretary Johnson needs to engage the Chinese on this issue, because the driver's license is fundamental to our security infrastructure. While Chinese companies are flooding our borders with these counterfeits, that infrastructure is in danger of crumbling.

Max Bluestein is the Director of Research at the Coalition for a Secure Driver's License.

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