Passport Fraud Trends and Ways to Combat Them - Report - 6th May 2021
An in-depth new guide to help tackle passport booklet fraud
Document fraud is a serious crime, one that has implications that stretch from personal identity theft all the way through to national security. Moreover, document fraud often serves as the foundation upon which other threats are built – human trafficking, drug smuggling, and terrorism amongst them.
Passport fraud is a key part of this landscape, and a growing problem. While Covid-19’s debilitating affect on international travel has helped to slow the rise of passport fraud over the past 12 months, the longer-term picture tells a different story altogether Some 100m travel documents were reported lost or stolen in 20201 and according to Frontex Risk Analysis, passports represented 47% of the fraudulent documents detected at European Union external borders in 2019, leading some commentators to decry a growing passport fraud “epidemic2”.
Ever keen to raise awareness of identity-related threats and provide guidance on the latest defences and countermeasures, the Secure Identity Alliance (SIA) has produced its “Passport Fraud Trends and Ways to Combat Them” report – a comprehensive overview of the current travel document security landscape.
Created with assistance from organisations including France’s National Document and Identity Fraud Office, Central directorate of border police, and Interpol’s Counterfeit Currency & Security Documents (CCSD) Branch”, the report presents an exhaustive analysis of the trends driving passport fraud today.
Covering issues that include the various classes of fraud, the new and emerging technologies involved in the creation of secure documentation, and the operating methods of forgers and counterfeiters, the full “Passport Fraud Trends and the Way to Combat Them” will be an invaluable read for anyone involved in the creation, issuance, or control of travel identity documents.
In the interests of maximising security, two versions of the report are available.
The public version, which avoids discussing detailed examples especially of most advanced techniques that might be of greatest interest to forgers and counterfeiters, is available for download on this page.
An in-depth guide for issuing authorities and border control bodies worldwide
The restricted more explicit version of this guide is limited to law enforcement agencies and authorities. It is accessible on the web page of the INTERPOL Travel and ID Documents Reference Centre, access to which is governed by strict rules and regulations. If you work for police, border control agency, immigration or other relevant governmental authority, please contact INTERPOL’s Counterfeit Currency and Security Documents Branch for more details: CCSD@interpol.int
