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FAKE: Constable Frank Creath shows some of the illegal identification cards recently seized. Authorities say they are seeing more fake IDs in East Texas. (Staff Photo By Kenneth Dean)

By KENNETH DEAN, Staff Writer

Fake identification cards are proving to be a problem for law enforcement across the nation with teens, illegal immigrants and criminals easily obtaining them by a click of the mouse or a visit to local businesses specializing in copies.
Federal undercover agents have repeatedly crossed the border into the United States by presenting Border Patrol officers bogus documentation.
In recent months, Smith County law enforcement officials have confiscated several fake ID cards from teens at local establishments selling alcohol - and while the problem is not new, the quality of the bogus ID cards sometimes fools even police and causes concerns about how vast the problem is in the area and across the nation.

Smith County Constable Frank Creath said it makes him wonder just how many people are using the counterfeit IDs.
"If kids are getting their hands on them then who else is?" he asked.

NOVELTY ITEMS
Creath said his deputies have confiscated at least four fake Louisiana ID cards from minors attempting to enter La Carretta's Mexican Cafe on South Broadway.
Creath's deputies began providing after-hours security at the restaurant, which sells alcohol, when law enforcement agencies expressed concerns about intoxicated drivers leaving the establishment.
"Thursday nights the place has karaoke and that draws a different crowd than the restaurant itself does on a regular night. We began seeing the teenage college girls coming in and trying to pass the fake IDs in order to consume alcohol on the premises," he said.
Creath said that while the IDs are not illegal to possess, they do present a problem.
"Because these aren't Texas IDs they are considered novelty items that can be bought on the Internet or at places like a printing shop in Dallas that we have been told sells them," he said.
Creath said one of his concerns is the fact that some of the IDs actually show the number used is valid when scanned by machines similar to credit card scanners.
"That presents an entirely different problem like criminals using them as they steal someone's identification," he said.
Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission Agent Ken Tullos said there are now fake Texas IDs being found in the area.
"We first started seeing them with the Hispanic population who are illegal immigrants, but now we are finding teens in possession of them," he said.
But what concerns Tullos the most is that the fakes are so good that even lawmen can be fooled.
"If a clerk took one of those good Texas copies for an alcohol purchase or access to a nightclub then I wouldn't hold them responsible, because these fakes are just too good," he said.

NATIONAL SECURITY
Recently, federal undercover agents told members of Congress they were able to gain access into the country numerous times this year alone by presenting counterfeit forms of identification.
The report has caused concern about national security.
Homeland Security spokesman Jarrod Agen told The Associated Press that agents are trained to identify false birth certificates, driver licenses and other documents. But he conceded that agents sometimes cannot verify the more than 8,000 different kinds of currently acceptable IDs without significantly slowing border traffic.
"This creates a security vulnerability we were hoping to close," Agen told the AP.
Agen said Homeland Security agents intercepted 75,000 fraudulent documents from border travelers last year. The department last month arrested a Mexican fugitive suspected of running a counterfeit documentation operation whose fake ID cards have turned up in all 50 states.

WIDESPREAD USE
Lisa Block, Texas Department of Public Safety spokeswoman, said the use of fake ID cards is widespread within the state and no particular group is using them more than another.
"Illegal immigrants, criminals and teenagers are the ones who are purchasing these items to use for various reasons," she said. "Teens typically use them to purchase alcohol and tobacco products and get into establishments that serve alcohol. Illegal immigrants use them to get employment and services and criminals use them to hide who they are and for criminal activity."
Ms. Block said it depends on the crime involved with a fake Texas identification card as to what, if any, charges can be filed.
"If used to purchase alcohol or tobacco then that's just a misdemeanor, to gain credit, change your identity, use it to cash a check and even making them is a felony," she said.
Tullos said there are at least two security features on the state approved Texas forms of identification that are easy to spot. Those features are not being divulged in this story due to the fact that Tullos said the counterfeiters haven't caught on to them.
However, when asked if they knew about the security features, several members of law enforcement in Smith County, including Creath and his deputies, said they did not.
When showed the features, Creath said he and his deputies would be looking more closely at the cards they check.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Kenneth Dean covers police, fire, public safety organizations. He can be reached at 903.596.6353. e-mail: news@tylerpaper.com


©Tyler Morning Telegraph 2006

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