FRAUD SUMMARY TALLINN: FIRST QTR FY2007

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TALLINN 001139 SIPDIS DEPT FOR CA/FPP; DEPT ALSO PASS TO KCC: POSTS FOR FRAUD PREVENTION MANAGERS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KFRD CVIS CPAS CMGT ASEC EN SUBJECT: FRAUD SUMMARY TALLINN: FIRST QTR FY2007 REF: 05 STATE 205073 Answers keyed to reftel: ¶A. COUNTRY CONDITIONS: No change from previous fraud summary. ¶B. NIV FRAUD: No significant changes from the previous fraud summary. The name of a Brooklyn, NY, resident who appears to be a visa facilitator continues to show up occasionally as the U.S. contact for otherwise clearly 214(b) refusal cases. Post will continue to monitor and investigate this individual?s activities related to visa applications in Tallinn. This person?s U.S. contact information is apparently used by at least one Estonian travel agency that assists Estonians with the visa application process. Post continues to verify applicant-provided information using various online resources, included but not limited to Lexis-Nexis, which we are finding to be a valuable and far-reaching tool to research applicant claims regarding U.S. residents and businesses. ¶C. IV FRAUD: Post has recently investigated a K visa petitioner after the applicant claimed no taxable income for several years and is apparently unable to show the legitimacy of his claimed business activities in the U.S. ¶D. DV FRAUD: Post does not issue diversity visas. We have, however, provided DV information to the Estonian public regarding DV-related scams, including one in which over $700 was demanded for the ?winner?s? visa processing. ¶E. ACS AND PASSPORT FRAUD: Post reports no ACS fraud. ¶F. ADOPTION: No change from previous fraud summary. ¶G. ASYLUM AND OTHER DHS FRAUD: No change from previous fraud summary. ¶H. COOPERATION WITH HOST GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES: Since the previous fraud summary, Post has initiated a fully automated system to daily retrieve lost and stolen passport information from the Estonian government website on which it is posted. Initially, data was retrieved by a stand-alone computer in Tallinn and emailed to the Consular Section for forwarding to the Support Desk. Since December 8, the process has been completely automated in Estonia with the stand-alone PC sending its reports directly to the Support Desk. Post is working with consular sections at a few other posts in an effort to combine retrieval of lost and stolen passport data so that the 50-passport threshold for batch entry can be reached every day. Currently, using only Estonian data, the threshold is reached one to two times each week. ¶I. AREAS OF PARTICULAR CONCERN: Post has met with border guards at air, land, and sea crossings to discuss issues faced at those points of entry into Estonia and to offer Post?s assistance in verifying the validity of questionable U.S. travel documents. We are seeking to enlarge data sharing with GOE officials beyond the lost and stolen passport data. ¶J. STAFFING AND TRAINING: The consular section consists of two officers, one consular associate and two FSNs. The FSNs and consular associate assist with fraud prevention work as required. Both officers have completed PC541 Fraud Prevention for Consular Managers. The Visa Assistant has recently completed PC-542 FSN Fraud Prevention. TALLINN 00001139 002 OF 002 GOLSTEIN