Introduction
Identity fraud has become rampant over nations in the twenty-first century. Identity fraud affects a wide range of departments in a nation. These activities may include causing adverse effects on financial organizations, where actions like accessing bank accounts that are not owned by the transactor, providing false information on financial worthiness, etc. Other sectors that may be affected by identity fraud are the registration departments and the immigration departments. People use false identification cards to access immigration services under other people's identity.
Background of Fraudulent Identity in Australia
In Australia, cases of identity fraud have been on the increase in the recent. The Australian government has tried to document the issue of identity fraud to try to establish ways of solving the crime. Identification of the most affected areas due to identity theft was established by the government as well as solution measures to curb, reduce and reduce the effects of identity theft. Cases of identity fraud happen by stealing other people's identification document or by forging identification documents.
Establishing the exact count of the number of crimes that are committed over time in Australia has however been a hard task to accomplish. There does not exist a single category of identity fraud crimes which makes it difficult to point out the exact number of identity-related frauds. Records that are available establish the cases of identity crimes which show that the identity fraud market is undergoing an expansion in terms of the people demanding fake identity and technology has also been improved to reduce chances of being caught. Australian citizens, for instance, have been witnessed fighting in Syria which clearly translates to a rather growing identity fraud crime sector.
On other occasions, four men were arrested in Sydney for crimes that were related to identity crime offenses. Police revealed the men to be a criminal syndicate that was making fraudulent documents, including identity cards. Equipment that was used to make the documents like printers and laminators were as well reported to be sophisticated. Such a discovery as the identity crime department reported showed that identity fraud market was on a rampant growth if the involved people could afford such sophisticated equipment. Other documents that were made include medical care access cards, drivers' licenses, and bank credit cards. Again in 2001, the Australian Police arrested a man who had used close to fifty false identities in a $7 million property fraud where they used the identities to obtain home loans from financial institutions.
In addition to the four men, another incidence occurred in Campsie on January 12, where a man was charged with possession of false document-making equipment at Burwood Local Court. Another incidence on January 14, involved a man who was as well charged for possessing a false document-making equipment in Carlton. Another case involved a man charged with dealing with identity information. A woman of Chinese nationality was as well arrested for owning false immigration and registration documents in Carlton. Following the above reports the Australian identity crime department has taken several actions some being creating awareness for citizens to taking the necessary security precautions to avoid being victims of identity fraudsters.
Effects of Fraudulent Identity Documentation
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the personal fraud classification report, it was reported that 5% of the total people who reported personal identity fraud became victims of personal fraud while 35% only got exposed to the scam. A 2.4% of those who were exposed to personal identity fraud suffered incidences of bank theft while the other percentage of 2.6 became victims of stolen identity. Among those who were exposed to a personal scam, 2.0% became victims. 60% of identity theft became victims of other identity thefts crimes.
Identity crimes may involve fraudsters using their victims' identities to cover criminal offenses. In turn, the victims become suspects of crimes they did not commit. Online bank theft is as well another adverse effect that may be experienced by victims of identity theft. As reported by the Australian Bureau of statistics, online bank theft is experiences by 2.4% of identity fraud victims. Identity fraudsters may as well use stolen identities to access information that they could otherwise not have been able to access. In the report, it is shown that this crime carries 0.4% of victims of identity fraud.
As a result of increased cases of fraudulent identity documents as well the nations surrounding Australia are not left behind in experiencing the effects. A number of Australian nationality holders have been charged with false national identification in countries like Syria and Iraq. It is of no good intentions that they illegally move to these countries but mainly to fight for ISIS. This poses a threat of continued terrorism as the citizens can easily access the false identification they need to be in these countries. In Bali as well, Australian citizens have been arrested bearing false immigration and identification cards. Rising levels of identity fraud make it hard for neighboring countries to fight crime as criminals can easily attain fake Australian citizenship and move to Australia to avoid facing justice. It is very likely as well that they will continue to execute their crimes while in Australia.
It was also revealed by the United States that Australian airlines were being used by fraudsters as a transit point to connect Asia and the US in a sophisticated immigration racket. Deeper research revealed that the masterminds were not necessarily Australians but Chinese gangs that found an easier way to use Australia as a transit point. Reports provided an evidence of more than six groups that contained over people who had been caught attempting to enter the US illegally. Australia being an access point indicated that it had a weak citizen authentication system.
Way Forward By the Australian Government
Australia has felt the increase of identity crime and has set across several measures to tackle the crime. In 2002, Australia did not have legislations that addressed identity crimes and fraud because they were not as rampant as they are today. To fight the crimes of identity, however, the nation has taken several measures towards achieving reduction of identity frauds. In 2003, the nation introduced a policy to address the issues of fraudulent identity documentation. The policy, ‘Australian Identity Crime Policing Strategy' was targeted at identity crime as well as identity crime victim assistance. AICPS, as the Australian government believed, provide a sound foundation where police officers would carry out their role from. It incorporated the participation of other law enforcement agencies, the government, the private organizations as well as members of the communities. It had a sole vision which was to achieve ‘a safer and more secure community'. Its strategy purpose was stated as ‘to prevent and reduce identity crime and to assist the victims of identity theft'
In the AICPS, it was suggested that the AICPS be used as Electronic Crime Strategy's companion as it was revealed that many identity crimes were electronic. In order to achieve maximum effectiveness of the strategy, it stated that there needed to be a cooperative approach with the ECS to identify identity crimes between Australian Police jurisdictions and their partners who included the public and private sectors. Education on prevention precautions and risk management practices to strengthen procedures used by institutions that enable criminals to exploit them. Extending partnership to the community helps the specialists to provide sufficient knowledge to help them minimize the risk of becoming victims of identity crimes. Another reason for advocating partnership with the public is to educate them on reporting identity crimes to the police for them to be investigated.
Technology is identified as an important aspect in preventing fraudulent identity documentation. Improving the technology that is used to make financial, commercial and organizational transactions was stated to reduce the probability of identity crimes taking place. An increased validity of identity registration, as well as authentication methods like PIN numbers, are some ways that could help to improve transaction protection technology. Use of computer-chipped cards and biometrics could act as part of the technology that is used to improve user authentication. Australian law as well could enforce new technologies like establishing the use of live scan to assist in combating identity crimes. Live scan assists in conducting online fingerprint identification that directly interfaces with the National Fingerprint Identification System and can immediately identify offenders.
An advancement of technology in the police department was seen as having the potential to develop police capability to respond, investigate and establish identity crimes. Aligning the strategies used by the police to fight identity crime with those used by other departments covering regulatory, management and enforcement responsibilities could advance the efforts of curbing identity crimes. Establishing partnerships with financial institutions and customer protection organizations could as well assist the police in reducing the number of crimes that occur. Technical ability of the police as well was stated to need development to increase the capacity to meet the prevailing and future needs in investigating in relation to the use of technology by identity criminals. Engaging the private sector as well was viewed to help in reduction of identity crimes by tightening up their security protocols to reduce opportunities that may be provided for identity criminals. Legislative reform as well enables the use of technology-based procedures to investigate and prosecute identity crimes which increase the effectiveness of the efforts to fight the practice.
Law enforcement as well was identified by the AICPS as another part that needed to be taken care of to achieve efficiency in fighting identity fraud cases. When dealing with the identity crimes, the police should be very careful as the crimes may be delicate and misleading at times. In reference to law enforcement, the strategy urged that enough investigation is done and arrest the right person. In a case involving a 72-year-old businessman who was mistaken to be a fraudster because his name was used to conduct telemarketing fraud is an example of mistakes that are made by law enforcement. The strategy called for sufficient investigation before any conclusions were made to avoid prosecuting victims while the criminals go free.
Conclusion
In relation to the background of Australia's fraudulent identity documentation market, it's clear that the market has gained continuous development in terms of technology and track-covering techniques. However following the introduction of AICPS to guide policies of identity fraud crimes, the nation has experienced improved levels of achievements in fighting identity crimes. Australia has improved in reducing the number of people and criminals caught using it as a connection point to the US. Improvement of authentication technology has well seen improved protection of individual and institutional financial account protection reducing cases of financial fraud. Despite these improvements, however, Australia still encounters cases of its citizens illegally moving to Syria and Iraq after attaining fake or stolen immigration authorization. It, therefore, poses a great challenge as this reveals that the fight against identity crime is not all successful which in turn calls for improved measures, technology and improved levels of partnership.
Michelle_Michy
IntelligenceAssessmentAustralia.docx
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