[fc-discuss] Financial Cryptography Update: Buying ID documents

[iang@iang.org]

(((((((((( Financial Cryptography Update: Buying ID documents ))))))))))

                            August 22, 2005


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https://www.financialcryptography.com/mt/archives/000539.html



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Another structural beam just rusted and fell out of the foundations of
the Identity Society.  There is now a (thriving?) offshore market in
forged secondary documents.  Things like electricity bills, phone
bills, credit documents, council or city papers can be drawn up for
cash.

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/saving-and-banking/article.html?in_article
_id=403115&in_page_id=7

=======
Beverley Young of Cifas, a fraud advice service set up by the credit
industry, said: 'It is hard to prevent criminals using the internet to
find false documentation, which can then be used to steal people's
identities.

'We can warn people about false documents, but the sophisticated
techniques used by the fraudsters mean that in most cases we cannot
stop them. The regulators are powerless, too.
...

Cifas said the replica documents looked authentic because the people
operating many of the websites had bought up printing equipment that
was used by the companies whose documents they fake.

Fraud investigating company CPP of York accessed one of these websites
and paid £200 for false statements from British Gas, Barclaycard,
Barclays bank and Revenue & Customs.
========

As a reminder - what's left to establish Rights?  There are a wealth of
other techniques in Rights:

  * web of trust
  * nymous techniques leading up to capabilities (hard assets not
credit)
  * tokens popularised by the blinded cash formula
  * Brands framework

>From a technology pov we have no issue.  But for society at large this
is yet more evidence of a looming clash between the unstoppable machine
of Identity and the unimpressible rock of reality.

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