Passport Fraud: Tales of the Sophisticated and

UNCLAS BOGOTA 000400 SIPDIS STATE FOR CA/PPT, CA/FPP AND WHA/AND E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: CPAS SMIG KFRD KCSY CO SUBJECT: Passport Fraud: Tales of the Sophisticated and Unsophisticated -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. Over a three week period in January, the Fraud Prevention Unit (FPU) in Bogota investigated three separate incidents of US passport fraud. Two involved attempts to smuggle alien children, while the third was a case of an American fugitive assuming a different identity to avoid detection by US law enforcement. Two cases were spotted thanks to airline personnel and Colombian immigration officials, the third due to information received in the FPU. -------------- Unsophisticated Imposters -------------- ¶2. On January 4, Avianca Airlines notified FPU of the case of a sixteen-year old imposter who was traveling alone. Avianca referred the case to Colombian immigration officials (DAS) who agreed that the passenger (presumably a Colombian national) was not the rightful bearer of the US passport. DAS turned the passport over to FPU. FPU requested that the minor and his Colombian father present themselves at the Embassy to confirm the teenager's identity, but the family has failed to show. The passport has been cancelled and local prosecutors are pursuing possible criminal charges against the minor's Colombian father for human smuggling. ¶3. On January 18, DAS notified FPU of a twenty-year old US citizen who under questioning admitted to being an imposter. The subject remained in DAS custody until he was deported on January 20 under his true identity and on an emergency passport issued by the Embassy. US law enforcement checks on the individual revealed that he was a wanted person. FPU worked closely with DHS and USSS to have the individual arrested upon arrival in the United States. -------------- Sophisticated Passport Fraud -------------- ¶4. The third case of fraud revealed a much more sophisticated scheme. On January 14, an informant detailed the mala fide travel intent of a family of four. The individual told FPU that a nine-year old Colombian national had obtained a US passport in the name of another individual. Using PIERS and the Consolidated Consular Database (CCD),FPU discovered that the photograph in both a denied visa record and the US passport application were of the same child. In other words, a US passport containing the biographical data of a US citizen child bore the photograph of the Colombian child who would attempt to use it. ¶5. FPU believes that the child's six-year old sister succeeded in traveling to the US in December under the same scheme. However, because we do not know the identity she used - and existing consular systems do not allow for facial recognition on demand using photographs from visa records - this could not be confirmed. The father of the children allegedly has been in the US illegally for several years. The mother intended to follow her son to the US by traveling to Mexico and then crossing the border with the assistance of a smuggler. ¶6. With the information provided by the walk-in individual, FPU referred the case to the Assistant Regional Security Officer-Investigator (ARSO-I). ARSO-I worked closely with the airlines and Colombian immigration to flag the travelers at check-in. Diplomatic Security's (DS) Colombian vetted law enforcement unit confiscated the fraudulently obtained passport and detained the US citizen adult who was accompanying the child. ¶7. The AmCit adult has since been charged in Colombian courts with human smuggling of a minor. The child's mother is also under investigation and will likely be charged for human smuggling. Furthermore, the vetted unit discovered that the US passport of the child had a false Colombian immigration stamp; the officer responsible for that stamp is now under investigation for corruption. ¶8. The ARSO-I will refer the case to the DS Los Angeles Field Office for further investigation once the investigation by the DS Colombian vetted unit is complete. This investigation will include a review of policies and procedures to identify any existing irregularities or vulnerabilities at the passport acceptance facility. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶9. FPU does not have evidence that this sudden spike in passport fraud is anything but a coincidence. In FPU's on-going training of airline personnel and immigration officers we will continue to emphasize the security features of US passports and the importance of being on the look-out for imposters. ¶10. The last case, however, is particularly disturbing as the would-be traveler was in possession of an authentic unaltered US passport bearing his photograph. The personal appearance requirement instituted in 2004 for all passport applicants did not catch that the photograph on the application did not match the child actually appearing. As the Department continues to roll-out new technologies to enhance the security of passports, it bears mention that facial recognition technology that runs passport applicants against visa records would likely have caught this fraud as the child had previous visa applications in the Consolidated Consular Database. BROWNFIELD