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May 11, 2005

hello my name is _______

O.K., when I saw this story, I was a little taken aback by the fact that the The State Department of Motor Vehicles Article from Wired cannot prevent an immigrant from getting a driver's license even if it cannot verify that he or she is a state resident.

The easiest way to do this is to verify the Social Security number that is given on the DMV form. What is this whole homeland security thing about? So anyone at anytime can walk into a DMV and claim that they are ANYONE THEY WANT and make up a fake Social Security number and get an official state-issued license. This is not a counterfeit, mind you, or a forgery; but the real McCoy. Is it just me or does this just kick that homeland security thing square in the nuts? WAIT, I 've got it. “If you see something, say something.” I have seen something, so now who do I say something to if it was only as easy to report as a bag left on the subway platform?

So they will not let my mother on the plane with a pair of tweezers (true story) but they will give her a government-issued driver's license so that she can get on a plane with a false identity--just without the tweezers.

O.K. folks, you were waiting for it and here it is:Shenanigans. Our government is just stupid. What use is a terrorist watch list when “they”--the boogie men we must all be afraid of--can be whomever they want just by going into a DMV and getting a new license?

I began to think about one form of crime that has increased exponentially in the past few years--identity theft. If criminals can go in and say they are-- let's say, me--and even though the Social Security number does not match, do you really think it will be terribly hard for them to make themselves into me (at least on paper)? I think every con man in the state just yelled "YIPPIE!" Take your pick: national security or con man's paradise. Either one is just wrong.

Posted by Kwaku at May 11, 2005 3:38 PM

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