Thread: Fake ID Mill Busted in Ft. Lauderdale

Now if they would catch some more of them. There are lots of them in South Florida.

http://cbs4.com/local/fak.id.store.2.951266.html

Alleged Fake ID Mill Is Busted In Ft. Lauderdale
Store Located At 3567 W. Davie Blvd. Reporting
Ted Scouten
FT. LAUDERDALE (CBS4) ―

A Ft. Lauderdale store that allegedly served as an operation to manufacture false IDs in Ft. Lauderdale was busted by police on Thursday, with a husband and wife team taken into custody, but police say this was a part of a much larger fake ID operation.

Fort Lauderdale police say Eduardo and Kelly Rodriguez ran the operation out of their Fort Lauderdale phone card store at 3567 W. Davie Blvd.

"This was a highly sophisticated operation," said Fort Lauderdale Police Sgt. Frank Sousa. "I mean they had several computer scanners, laminate machine and ID making machines that made the appearance of these IDs very similar to the actual ones that are distributed by the department of motor vehicles."

Detectives said the store was part of a wider interstate ring, where false credentials were made for whomever would be willing to pay as little as $200.

Investigators say this was the hub of a 30 store operation that stretched across Florida and into Mississippi and Colorado. The Rodriguez's were arrested after an undercover officer went into, and came out minutes later with a fake ID.

"The informant walked up, asked for a driver's license and an international ID, and with out any hesitation or questioning at all," Sousa said, "they provided one to her with the name and date of birth that she provided."

Authorities advise that making an ID is tougher than people think, and equipment to make something good is very expensive. Holograms and magnetic strips are very difficult to produce passably.

Police are concerned those fake IDs could be used for identity theft. If a person's wallet was stolen, the crook would be able to get an ID to match credit cards and checks quickly.

The Florida Highway Patrol is also working on the investigation with Fort Lauderdale Police.


(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

If you ever want to check it out the Federal Trade Commission has reports about the extent of ID theft on a state by state basis, and has per capita figures. Guess which states happen to the have the highest rates
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/i ... -data.html

If you guessed "Arizona" with the highest rate you were right! I would like to see what DHS Secretary Napolitano thinks about that.