Identity New

    The US Government has long been aware that individuals are, for a 
variety of reasons, trying to create new identities. Criminals on the run 
from the police, debtors seeking to walk away from financial demands, 
fraudsters establishing new identities to commit crimes, absent fathers 
evading child support payments, ex-wives seeking to evade violent 
partners, ex-husbands seeking to evade large divorce settlements, etc. 

    Twenty years ago, prior to the advent of computerization, there was 
little that could be done to combat identity changers. Such is the volume 
of work of government departments (e.g. over 5 million new Social 
Security Numbers are issued each year) that any elaborate form of 
checking individual cases would simply have brought the system to a 
halt. Computers are changing this - it is now possible to do crosschecking 
at the touch of a button. The main culprit here is the Social Security 
Number - this is now the standard means that both public and private 
agencies use for tracking people; eg, go into a bank and ask to open a 
new account, and as well as requesting some form of ID they will also 
ask for your Social Security Number which they will instantly check on 
the computer to see what information is held on you by credit reference 
agencies. The Government is engaged on a long term program of cross-
referencing information between its various agencies, eg the 
encouragement of states to cross-reference birth and death records so that 
birth certificates of now deceased people will be marked as such (thus 
eventually doing away with the old scam of getting a copy of a deceased 
child's birth certificate and using that to create a new identity). What 
does all this mean for the would-be identity changer?  Simply, that if you 
do go ahead with changing your ID, you need to give each stage careful 
thought - thought as to how you're going to do it and thought as to how 
you are going to cover your tracks in case any stage of the process goes 
wrong (you don't want government agents on your door-step asking why 
you're requesting a drivers license in a name other than your own). 

    Which brings me to the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act 
of 1998. This is the first piece of legislation enacted for the specific 
purpose of deterring and punishing identity changers - these are its main 
points:
- Identity theft (i.e. transferring or using another persons means of 
  identification) becomes a crime, subject to penalties.
- "Means of identification" is defined to include name, date of birth, 
  passport, social security number, official state or government drivers 
  license or state ID, alien registration number, and employer or taxpayer 
  identification number.
- The Federal Trade Commission is established as a clearinghouse to 
  receive and process complaints, referring incidents to the appropriate 
  authorities (eg credit reference bureaus or law enforcement agencies.

    What are the implications of this? Probably not a lot. They aren't
going out proactively looking for identity changers. They are a reactive 
organization and will only get involved if someone does something 
stupid and catches the eye of someone in authority. However, more 
recently enacted legislation, the Internet False ID Prevention Act, has had 
a big effect. This federal law, which went into effect March 2001, makes 
it a felony for US based websites to offer templates (which would be 
downloaded over the web) to produce fake ID. Those who violate the Act 
could be sentenced to one year in jail even if their template is used only 
to make one fake ID, and up to twenty years if the template is used for 
more than five ID's. 

    This has resulted in the virtual disappearance of all US based sites 
selling fake ID. There are still many sites offering fake ID but they are 
either based abroad or they are selling stuff that won't be a lot of use
to anyone (e.g. European Student ID cards). 

How much time and expense is involved?
    This isn't something that can be done overnight. You need to allow a 
few weeks, mostly because you'll be dealing with government and state 
agencies by correspondence and at each stage you will have to wait for 
them to get back to you (eg, requesting a birth certificate - some vital 
records offices will oblige in a few days, some may take months). 

    The cost isn't going to break you. Generally just a few dollars here and 
there in fees to the various state and government departments you'll be 
dealing with. Your largest expense is likely to be renting a suitable 
address or mailbox where correspondence can be sent. 

    Access to a computer is useful (presumably you have that otherwise 
you wouldn't be reading this now) together with a good quality scanner 
and printer. The computer is first of all invaluable as a means to access 
all the information available on the web (and there is an awful lot of 
information). Secondly, you may well find it necessary to scan in and 
reproduce documents. 

Fake Documents and Second Passports 
    If you have just read the above section (Legal or illegal?) you'll know 
that since the Internet Fake ID Prevention Act, which came into force 
March 2001, most US based fake ID Internet sites have shut down. The 
authorities are actively pursuing fake ID websites, and the penalties are 
harsh. The remaining web sites generally fall into two categories: 
1. Sites that apparently offer a large selection of high quality fake ID. 
Usually based outside the US (often in the UK or Canada), these are 
often scam sites that will take your money and send you nothing, or at 
best send you some poor quality ID that will be of no use to you. Who 
are you going to complain to?!
2. Sites that provide bogus Employment ID cards or International Student 
ID cards. These may be useful as secondary ID, but nothing more.

    So, if you can no longer buy ID over the net, where can you get it? 
You really only have two alternatives: 1. Make it yourself. This is still 
possible if you have the use of a computer and a printer. All the materials 
are available and there is a wealth of literature available giving technical 
advice on how to go about it.
2. Buy from the street. There is a lot of fake ID available - the best places 
to look are college campuses or inner city areas in cities with large 
numbers of illegal immigrants. The obvious drawbacks here are that a lot 
of what you are going to be offered is going to be of very poor quality.

    The main problem with fake ID, however, is that it isn't verifiable. If 
you get stopped for speeding and produce a fake drivers license it will 
only take a few seconds for the officer to do a check and realize that your 
license is a fake. 

    A more serious problem for the identity changer is the availability of 
hand-held verification machines - they're cheap (even nightclub bouncers 
are getting them) and easy to use (your ID is just swiped through it). 

    Technology will increasingly be used by governments to fight fraud - 
more and more drivers licenses now have holograms on them. Holograms 
are not impossible to fake, but they add considerably to the level of skill 
involved and make it less likely that a forger would be able to reproduce 
a whole range of state and provincial ID as in the past. 

    The US government is currently implementing a program to modernize 
passport issuing with a view to combating documentation fraud - this 
includes digitizing the passport photo to combat photo-substitution fraud 
(so that the original passport photo is available online to immigration 
officials to compare against the actual photo displayed in the passport). 
Plus, an electronic case management system is being developed to allow 
passport application clerks to view online any information they hold on 
applicants (e.g. those who have made false statements regarding previous 
passport applications), including images of birth certificates, etc. In 
reality, all this is probably some years away - apart from the practicality 
of implementing such a scheme, there are also cost and privacy issues. 
However, this isn't to say that fake ID is no use at all. There may be 
occasions when establishing your identity that fake ID may come in 
useful. For example, when requesting a birth certificate you may be 
asked by some vital records offices to supply a photocopy of your drivers 
license... which is where a fake one comes in useful (a fake license from 
a different state of course, more difficult for the clerk to query). 

    Second Passports.  You may have heard of people getting second 
passports and wondered what that was all about. It isn't directly related
to getting a new ID but I'll mention it anyway. 

    It basically means getting a passport for another country so that you 
can travel using this passport, open bank accounts around the world using 
it as ID, and maybe even reside in the country that issued this passport. 
So, if you're a US citizen and you're thinking that sounds good, here's the 
downside...

    Firstly, in US law you can't have a second passport because it means 
you've pledged allegiance to another country other than the US. If you 
take another passport you are theoretically supposed to give up your US 
citizenship. However, in practice this is not a problem simply because the 
US authorities will never know that you've got this second passport. So, 
lets discount this objection. 

    No, the real problem lies in the fact that unless you're willing to spend 
hundreds of thousands of dollars you may be wasting your time... and 
here's why. 

    These second passports are legitimate passports issued by bona fide 
authorities (or their agents) by actual countries, but the catch is that most 
of them are third world countries or developing countries (e.g., Belize, 
Columbia, Grenada - these countries do it quite simply because it's a 
useful source of income) where either you wouldn't want to live anyway 
or, more importantly, you will need to get a visa to travel to most of the 
countries you want to visit anyway on the passport (e.g. the US, Canada, 
Britain, France, Germany, etc). Getting a visa isn't a formality - it may 
involve an actual interview with an official at the local consulate of the 
country you wish to visit - if they have any doubts about you they won't 
let you in. 

    But, like I mentioned, if you are prepared to spend a lot of money it 
may be worth looking into. It is possible to obtain citizenship of some 
perfectly respectable countries (e.g., Argentina, Ireland) by undertaking 
to invest a large sum of money in their economy (although be warned, 
this isn't an easy option - generally speaking, the more respectable the 
country the more likely they are to perform background checks on you to 
ensure that they are granting citizenship to a respectable person). 

    If this is a route that interests you I suggest you do a search on the
web - just search for "second passports" and you'll find numerous sites 
offering them. 

A little background research 
    If you do intend to change your identity and you are not in any rush,
I would suggest that you might want to spend some time looking at the 
study of genealogy (the process of tracing your ancestors). Maybe try and 
trace your own family back a few generations, finding their birth, death 
and marriage records. This will familiarize you with some of the 
processes involved, get you used to talking to clerks, etc, and maybe put 
you a little more at ease for when you start the process of creating a new 
identity. 

Establishing a Mailing Address 
    Before you start the process of creating a new identity with new 
documentation you first of all need to set up an address where all your 
mail can go. This is so that there is no link between the old you and the 
new you. Firstly, if anything goes wrong during the creation of the new 
identity you want to be able to walk away from it, with nothing linking 
the scheme to you. Secondly, once the identity has been created you do 
not want to jeopardize it - you don't want someone from your past to 
come looking for you and be able to trace you. 

    The traditional method has always been to rent a mailbox (cheap and 
easy). When corresponding with state and government departments it has 
always been possible to disguise the fact that you're giving a mail box 
address by giving the mail box number as though it were the number of 
an apartment or suite at the address (e.g. give the address as Suite 59,
not Box 59). This is no longer possible. Under a new rule of the postal 
service, all mail to mailboxes will be returned to sender unless correctly 
addressed. This now means that the address has to include the letters 
PMB to indicate that you are writing to a mailbox. 

    I do also suspect that some government departments are getting more 
suspicious when it comes to dealing with requests for documentation (the 
problem of identity theft, the events of September 11th, etc). This may 
make it just that little more difficult to request documents by post - for 
example, if you're requesting a birth certificate, and you send a money 
order for payment, using a PO box as an address with no phone number, 
then don't be surprised if you get no reply. There is every likelihood that 
those sorts of requests are going to be treated with suspicion and put to 
one side. 

    So, what's the solution? The simplest course of action is to approach 
someone who rents out cheap office space. Tell them that you've got a 
small business but that you don't wish to give out your home address, so 
you're looking for a cheap alternative. Can you either rent a very cheap 
office or, better still, maybe they would be prepared to accept your mail 
in return for a weekly fee? Keep looking and you are sure to find 
someone willing to do a deal, especially if you are prepared to pay cash. 
This is important - you don't want to pay by credit card or check because 
it can be traced back to your old identity. 

    You'll probably only need the address for a maximum of three months 
anyway to establish the new ID. If you get any mail after this you can 
always call in and collect it - when a lease is over, they don't usually 
mind you calling in occasionally to collect anything that may have come 
in. 

    Or, how about this for a clever idea. Pick out a small local one-man 
business (for example a barbers shop) and post a letter there. Call in a 
few days later and explain that you've just moved into the area, and that 
you've accidentally given the wrong address to a couple of people... sorry 
for any inconvenience, but would it be possible to call in and collect any 
other mail that comes? If he says yes then you've got your mail drop, free 
of charge and with absolutely no way of tracing you. 

    Just as a matter of interest, if any of you out there are worried about 
going to collect the mail from your mail drop, because you're expecting a 
dozen law enforcement officers to grab you and throw you to the ground 
because they have discovered your little scam, then don't worry. With 
police and government resources being limited, firstly they generally 
only go after people if a large amount of money is involved, and 
secondly they never ever waste time on speculative surveillance 
operations again unless a large amount of money is involved and thirdly, 
cases like this very often involve problems of jurisdiction (you may be 
requesting documents from another state or even another country). 

    I'll tell you a little story, which alerted me to the attitude of the
police. It surprised me at the time because like most people, I had little
dealings with them (nothing more than the odd parking ticket), I was very
law-abiding and tended to assume that the police were all powerful, all 
seeing, the guardians of law and order, etc, etc. I worked in a cellular 
phone store a few years back and as you must be aware, before you can 
have a phone on a monthly price plan you need to be credit checked. We 
credit checked a middle aged man, and he passed the check. We filled out 
the airtime agreement there and then (plus taking photocopies of his 
proofs of ID), and he said he'd call in the following day at 2pm and 
would actually take two phones (this wasn't unusual, men would often 
get a second phone for their wife). The following morning one of my 
assistants in the store was going through the paperwork, preparing this 
mans phones for collection. I can't remember now what the discrepancy 
was, but she noticed something amiss - something aroused her 
suspicions. So, on her own initiative she phoned the mans bank (we had 
his bank details on the airtime agreement). The bank immediately 
confirmed that the man was a fraudster - he got a stolen checkbook and 
ID, and they'd had numerous dud checks from him. So it was agreed with 
the bank that we would contact the police and that hopefully they would 
be able to come down and wait for him to appear at 2pm. You'd think 
nothing could be simpler, but I was wrong. I phoned the local cops and 
explained the situation to them - complete disinterest was how I would 
summarize their response. As far as they were concerned, no crime had 
yet been committed, and if there was a crime it wasn't a particularly 
serious one, and even though the man had very conveniently given us the 
time he expected to be in our store, this couldn't be guaranteed, so from 
their perspective the whole thing was possibly a waste of their precious 
time (I should also point out that the police station was only 5 minutes 
from the store). 

    At this time I was in another of our stores, but I relayed this 
conversation to the two girls who were working at the store where the 
man was due to come in later that day. The girls were understandably 
surprised, and also shaken, because of course it meant that they would 
have to face the man on their own - it would at the very least be 
unpleasant. After putting down the phone from talking to me, one of the 
girls had the presence of mind to call the bank back and explain the 
situation to them. The bank were also surprised at the response of the 
police - however, they knew that there was already an ongoing police 
investigation into this man because of previous check frauds. They were 
able to contact the appropriate police department and the man was 
subsequently arrested that afternoon in the store. 

    Phone Number. When dealing with state and government departments 
they often request a contact phone number. You've got two options here. 
You can either rent a secretarial service, so that your "office" will answer 
the phone and take a message for you. This is relatively inexpensive 
(usually it's charged by the month). You can simply ring in each day to 
check if there are any messages for you. Alternatively, a recent option is 
a mobile phone on a pre-pay scheme. It's now possible to buy a mobile 
phone without a contract and pay for the usage by purchasing monthly 
airtime vouchers. This means there is no annual contract so you don't 
need to be credit checked, which is important because you don't want to 
give your actual name and address. They still may ask for some ID (this 
will vary depending on the company) - but it's probably nothing you 
couldn't get round with some false ID. 
  
FORMS OF ID (USA)
 A. Birth Certificate 
 B. Social Security Number 
 C. Drivers License 
 D. Passport

A. Birth Certificate 
    Before going into detail about birth certificates it's probably 
worthwhile to take an overview of the whole system so that we can see 
what we are dealing with. 

    The great advantage for the identity changer is that the whole system is 
decentralized. It's developed over the years at local level, with little 
attempt to standardize across the nation. 

    The government is aware of the limitations of the system, particularly 
the ease with which certificates can be fraudulently obtained or 
reproduced, but there aren't any easy solutions for the government. Here 
are a few facts: 
6,422 different entities currently issue birth certificates
14 states allow open access to birth certificates (California, Iowa, 
Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, North 
Carolina, Ohio, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington, 
Wisconsin)
Over 14,000 different versions of birth certificates are in circulation
Federal and state agency staff have only limited training to detect 
fraudulent certificates
Birth certificate fraud is seldom prosecuted unless it can be linked to 
other large dollar losses or other punishable crime
In 28 states birth certificate fraud remains a misdemeanor
The majority of states have a decentralized approach to issuing 
certificates, relying on local offices over which they have little control. 
Only 11 states use a centralized operation for issuing certificates.
The sale of certificates serves as a source of revenue (in some cases the 
only source of revenue) for state health departments, so there is little 
incentive for restricting their sale.

    A 1999 statement from the Office of Passport Policy, Planning and 
Advisory Services before the Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims 
Committee on the Judiciary US House of Representatives reported the 
following: "The integrity of birth documentation and the potential for 
fraud are of great concern to us. An individual's US certificate of birth
is primary evidence of citizenship. When an individual born in the United 
States applies for a passport for the first time, the evidence of citizenship 
presented is usually a US birth certificate. We need that document to be 
reliable because, after the first application, the passport itself is used
as evidence of citizenship. If a US passport is issued on the basis of a 
counterfeit or altered birth certificate or a genuine birth certificate 
presented by an impostor, the original evidence may never be examined 
again and the problems are compounded." 

    "There are many thousands of offices nationwide authorized to issue 
certified copies of US birth certificates, which come in hundreds of 
different formats. These include long-form birth certificates issued by 
state, county or municipal entities, as well as shortened versions, called 
abstracts, or transcriptions, which contain only limited information. We 
have also seen wallet-sized versions. Format changes are plentiful. They 
reflect new issuance procedures, new paper stock, or a newly appointed 
registrar. To further complicate the matter, some states issue local birth 
certificates to children who have been born abroad and adopted by US 
citizens, in addition to birth certificates amended to reflect domestic 
adoption. States also issued delayed birth certificates, on the basis of an 
oral declaration only, often years after the alleged birth. An example is a 
case of a foreign couple who were able to obtain a two-year delayed birth 
certificate, on the basis of an affidavit, for a baby who they claimed had 
been born in a hotel room while they were here on vacation, with no 
witnesses other than the alleged father, who just happened to be an 
obstetrician, and no outward signs of birth left in the hotel room. The 
parents claimed to have returned to their homeland the day after the 
alleged birth, leaving the baby with an acquaintance for the next two 
years. As you can see, the potential for fraud is very real." 

    "Furthermore, birth certificates can be falsified with relative ease,
with widely varying degrees of quality and sophistication. At the low-end,
we see photocopies of legitimate birth certificates with the original name 
deleted with typewriter correction fluid and a new name typed over. 
These types of documents are generally purchased from a street-level 
vendor, exploiting migrant workers and uneducated aliens. However, any 
individual can produce such a document." 

    "At the high-end, we see computer-generated copies of birth 
certificates using virtually the same ink, paper, and printing fonts as a 
legitimate birth certificate. While these can be detected in the passport 
application process, it requires extensive research and checks of records 
in the jurisdiction which would ordinarily issue the legitimate 
certificate." 

    "In many instances, legitimate birth certificates are purchased from
US citizen accomplices. To cite one example, the Department's Diplomatic 
Security Service, which has statutory authority to investigate passport 
fraud, recently had a case of an alien-trafficking operation that recruited 
American citizens (out of a methadone clinic) to obtain and sell their 
birth certificates. The birth certificates were then used illegally for a 
number of purposes - the primary one being application for a US passport." 

    "Additionally, fraudulent applicants are able to obtain the legitimate 
birth certificates of deceased persons because some states do not cross-
reference the records of birth and death. Many states participate in a 
voluntary interstate program to exchange information when an individual 
aged 45 and younger dies. Even in states that cross-reference internally 
and share information with other states, limited personnel resources may 
mean that records are not cross-referenced immediately upon receipt of 
death notification. The speed at which records can be cross-referenced is 
important because impostors are prepared to take advantage of any lag-
time between a death in one state and its recording in another state. We 
have seen cases where an individual born in one state is killed in an 
accident in another. Someone spots the obituary, gets a copy of the birth 
certificate, obtains identification under the new identity, and applies for
a passport - all before the death record is filed in either state." 

    "The State Department considers the more than 4,000 passport 
acceptance officers nationwide to be our first line of defense in detecting 
fraudulent documentation. We have training programs to alert them to 
possible impostor fraud, and we ask them to report suspicious behavior to 
the passport agencies. There is a Fraud Programs Manager at each of the 
14 passport agencies. When there is a question about a birth certificate or 
other document, our Fraud Program Managers routinely contact the 
office that purportedly issued the suspect document." 

    The birth certificate is the foundation document of your identity -
from this flows all other documents. It is therefore imperative that you 
concentrate your efforts on making this document as authentic as 
possible. There is a lot to learn here, so I have broken it down into 
different sections to make it easier to understand: 
 (a) What kinds of certificate are there? 
 (b) Requesting a copy of a birth certificate. 
 (c) Does everyone have a birth certificate? 
 (d) How do I create an authentic birth certificate for my new identity? 

(a) What kinds of certificate are there? 
    (1) Hospital birth certificate 
    (2) State issued certificate 
    (3) County issued certificate 
    (4) Baptismal certificate 

(1) Hospital birth certificate. This certificate is issued either by the 
hospital where the birth takes place, or by an attending doctor or midwife 
if the birth occurs outside of a hospital. It is an official and legal 
document. It records the name and location of the hospital, the child's 
name, sex and time of birth, the parent's names and ages, and the 
signatures of the attending doctor and a witness. Plus, usually the 
hospital's seal is on this document. 

    The original copy is given to the parents and a photocopy is sent to the 
county records office. This photocopy is usually destroyed once the birth 
has been recorded by the records office. 

    The system sometimes breaks down when the birth takes place outside 
of a hospital. The hospital type birth certificate is still issued, but it is
not uncommon for a copy of it not to be sent to the county records office, so 
that the birth is never officially recorded. The doctor or midwife will 
issue a certificate to the parents, requesting that they take the certificate 
to the records office to officially record the birth, but the parents never 
get round to doing it. 

    Finally, of course, remember that any copy of an adult's hospital birth 
certificate will now be old. They are only issued at the time of birth to the 
parents, and the authorities do not keep copies to allow for requests to be 
made for additional copies later on (because theoretically there's no 
reason why anyone should require a copy because they should also have 
been issued with a state or county birth certificate). 

    However, because so many people only have a hospital certificate and 
no state or county one, then state and federal authorities will usually 
accept a hospital one as being valid. This is of interest to potential 
document forgers because hospital certificates are more difficult for the 
authorities to verify because not only does the certificates appearance 
vary from hospital to hospital, but also more importantly, unlike state 
issued certificates, they do not have any unified system of numbering so 
that their validity cannot be instantly verified. Plus, you can always 
produce a certificate from a hospital that is now closed, making it 
impossible to disprove, as long as the certificate has been "aged" to make 
it look old. 

(2) State issued certificate. Issued by the Bureau of Vital Statistics at 
state level. All states issue their own certificates and so they differ in 
appearance from state to state, and of course the designs are also 
sometimes changed over the years. All state certificates have a state birth 
number (based on a standardized system used nationwide) that the 
authorities can verify (the number shows the state of birth, the year of 
birth, and a random number). However, it should be remembered that in 
the general course of events, unless your faked document arouses 
suspicion in some way, no attempt will be made to verify it by any 
department that is accepting it from you as proof of ID (this is because of 
the additional volume of work that would be entailed, limited resources 
and even privacy considerations). The state birth number makes 
producing fake state birth certificates difficult, which is why most fake 
ID companies will send you a hospital type certificate if you request a 
birth certificate. 

    A state issued birth certificate could be old or new, issued shortly after 
birth, or a recently requested copy. A requested copy of a birth certificate 
from a vital statistics office, the quality of the copy will differ 
considerably from state to state dependent on how they keep their records.
It could be a poor quality photocopy or a high quality printed version. 

(3) County issued certificate. Issued at county level by the county health 
department, county registrar or public records office. The appearance of 
certificates differs from county to county, even within the same state, and 
also from year to year as designs change. The certificate will have a 
locally issued number on it - not instantly verifiable like the state type, 
but still capable of verification if someone were to contact the records 
office. 

    Again, like at state level, a county level certificate could be old or
new. Old if it was issued shortly after birth, new if it is a recently
requested copy. Recent copies, like at state level, can be poor quality
photocopies or high quality printed versions. 

(4) Baptismal certificate. Not an actual birth certificate, but often 
accepted as such by the authorities in the absence of any other form of 
birth certificate (which is not uncommon). To be acceptable as valid it 
must contain the location and date of the birth, the location and name of 
the church, the date of baptism, the names of the parents, the signature 
and stamp or seal of a church official, and the baptism must have taken 
place within a few months of the child's birth. 

    Any adult's baptismal certificate will be quite old. Similar to hospital 
certificates, no new copies of old certificates are ever issued because 
there is no reason why anyone should ever require a copy of their 
baptismal certificate. 

    Again, like hospital certificates, the baptismal certificate is often
faked because it is very difficult to disprove its validity, particularly
if it has been "aged" to look old. 

 (b) Requesting a copy of a birth certificate 
    How easy is it? It varies from state to state, county to county. 
Theoretically, birth, death, marriage records, etc should be available to 
the public, however this is no longer always the case. The authorities, 
alarmed by the number of people accessing records with criminal intent 
(eg for welfare fraud, particularly in large cities like Los Angeles) are 
making access to records more difficult. 

    When applying for a copy of a birth certificate the office may stipulate 
that it will only supply a copy to the actual person themselves, or to an 
immediate relative, verified by supplying a photocopy of a drivers license 
(this is where a fake license can come in useful). 

    Where and how do I apply for a copy of a certificate? 
You can either apply at state level or county level. Its probably a good 
idea to apply at both levels because you won't know how long it's going 
to take and whether your application will run into any difficulties. 
Generally its easier to deal at county level - they tend to be a little more 
informal.
You'll have to mail in a request form, together with a small fee. Very 
often you can download and print off a copy of the form because many 
statistics and record offices have web sites. Sometimes you can get away 
with just sending a letter and the correct fee to a county office (like I 
said, they tend to be more informal) which is good because it means you 
don't have to give as much information.
They will want to know why you are requesting a copy of a birth 
certificate. Common reasons are for legal cases, genealogy, or to be 
submitted to the government as part of your security clearance for a new 
job. Your only problem here is that unless your request appears urgent 
you may find you have to wait a long time (weeks or even months) for 
your copy.
If you are in a hurry, some offices offer a speedier service with delivery 
by courier for an additional payment.

(c) Does everyone have a birth certificate? Surprisingly, some people 
have no birth certificate at all, because their birth was never officially 
recorded by the state. Parents with strong religious beliefs frequently did 
not record births, or as mentioned, when children were born outside of a 
hospital the doctor or midwife would have issued a certificate (see 
"Hospital birth certificate") but the birth was not recorded at county or 
state level, plus the certificate issued by the doctor or midwife may have 
been lost leaving no record at all of the birth. 
  
(d) How can an authentic birth certificate be created for my new identity? 
Now we know a little of how the system works, let's look at some 
different methods: 
 (1) Producing a fake birth certificate. 
 (2) Borrowing the identity of a deceased child. 
 (3) Delayed record of birth - convincing the administration that your 
birth was    never officially recorded. 

(1) Producing a fake birth certificate 
    Creating a completely new identity using new details (so you get to 
choose your own name, date of birth, etc). This process involves getting 
hold of some authentic birth certificates (so that you have a basis to work 
from) and using the desktop publishing facility on a computer, producing 
a fake certificate with your own details. 

    Firstly you need to decide the type of certificate to reproduce. We 
know there are basically four types of certificate (see (A)(a) "What kind 
of certificates are there?") - hospital, state, county and baptismal. I would 
have reservations about reproducing a state certificate - physically, it's no 
more difficult to reproduce than any of the others, but a drawback is that 
you are not going to be able to put a state birth number on it which is 
going to be 100% verifiable, although as previously mentioned, this is 
not necessarily a major problem - government departments do not 
automatically verify documents sent to them as proof of ID unless there 
is something about the document that leads them to suspect that it may be 
a fake.  However, if you do want to reproduce an actual state certificate, I 
recommend that you get an actual copy of a birth certificate from that 
state and change all the names and family details etc, but retain the state 
birth number, sex, the county of birth and also the date of birth. This is 
because it seems likely that in many states, the number on the certificate 
is coded to include a reference to these indicators, so changing any of 
them is likely to question the authenticity of the certificate. 

    A county birth certificate is a more feasible alternative. They differ 
greatly in appearance from one county to another, and though it will have 
a birth number on it, this is issued locally by the county records office 
and is therefore more difficult for the administration to verify (they 
would have to go to the trouble of actually contacting the records office). 
Another bonus is that it is easier to get hold of copies of county issued 
birth certificates (they are generally more obliging in supplying them - 
see (A)(b) Requesting a copy of a birth certificate). 

   The actual process of reproducing a county certificate is not difficult. 
Decide where you would like to be "born" (remember it's usually 
preferable to have a birth certificate from a different location from where 
you intend to settle so that when you need to produce your certificate as 
ID, local clerks won't be familiar with the appearance of it). You will 
then need to visit the area to look in some old editions of the local 
newspaper in the town library to pick out a name or names in the "birth" 
column. Anyone will do, just as long as the period is correct (eg 40 years 
ago if you are 40 years of age) - take as many details as possible (location 
of birth, date, parents names, etc). You need enough information to enable
you to write off to the records office to request a copy of the certificate. 

    Once you have a copy you can then get to work to reproduce it and 
create your own fake certificate with your details on it. Scan it into a 
computer and remove the details of the actual person, and insert your 
own details. You may have to purchase the correct type of paper from a 
specialist stationary store. The trickiest part is reproducing the 
certification stamp and seal (this is where the paper has been squeezed in 
a small vice-like instrument to produce a raised area of paper like a large 
coin). Examine the seal on the original copy - it probably won't be very 
clear, but it will probably have the seal of the county or city encircled
by some lettering saying "City of Dudesville" or "Dude County Recorder's 
Office", etc. Fake certificates ordered from fake ID companies will 
generally have some kind of seal on them, but often it's not appropriate 
to the document and may be easily seen as a fake by a clerk examining it. 
The good news is that it is possible to purchase seals from office supply 
companies (they are needed for legitimate reasons by notaries, 
corporations, etc) and also from some mail order ID companies, although 
you may have difficulty in getting one with the correct wording around it 
(it's illegal to reproduce the seals of actual agencies). Finally, of course,
it doesn't matter that your certificate looks new because it's supposed to be 
a newly certified copy of your original certificate (which has got lost). 

    A hospital birth certificate is definitely worthy of consideration. As 
mentioned, these are accepted by the administration as being valid and 
they have the advantage of being difficult (or impossible if the hospital 
has since closed down) to verify or disprove. The method of reproducing 
one would be similar as described above for a county certificate (with the 
exception that the document would have to be "aged" to make it look 
old). The only real difficulty here lies in getting hold of an old certificate 
to see what one actually looks like - it is not possible to order a copy in 
the same way as it is with county and state certificates. This is where
I suggest you may have to become interested in genealogy (researching 
your ancestors). This gives you a legitimate reason to be interested in birth
certificates - there are numerous clubs, books, societies, and web sites.
After a few days research you should be more knowledgeable on the subject. 

    A baptismal certificate is probably a less satisfactory option because
it is not as "official" as a hospital certificate and may not be so readily 
recognized as ID by the administration. However, it does have the 
advantage of being easily reproduced because it is possible to buy blank 
certificates from clerical supply stores. Again, like the hospital 
certificate, it would need to be "aged". This is not difficult. Some people 
stain them with tea to give a brown appearance, although this isn't always 
a good idea because it may make the document smell and sometimes clerks are
wise to this. It's probably just as easy to leave it out in the sun 
to give it a faded appearance, and the fold it up and put it in a shoe you 
are wearing. This will give it a nice soft, folded feel, with worn edges. 
  
(2) Borrowing the identity of a deceased child 
    This is a clever idea borrowed from a work of fiction ("The Day of the 
Jackal" by Frederick Forsyth). The basic concept is very simple - you 
search newspaper news or obituary columns (or cemeteries) to locate a 
child who was born about the same time as yourself, but who 
unfortunately died young. The child's birth would have been officially 
recorded and a birth certificate issued, but then nothing. At the time of 
the child's death a death certificate would have been issued, but it is only 
in recent times that any form of cross-referencing has taken place with 
birth and death records (eg since 1979 in Wisconsin, cross-referencing 
has taken place so that birth certificates from 1979 onwards are marked 
"deceased" if the person dies). So what we have with a deceased child is 
a completely virgin, unused, verifiable identity. 

    The concept is to locate a suitable child, request a copy of his/hers 
birth certificate, and then you become that person. The only proviso 
being that its probably better to choose a child from a different state in 
which you intend to settle to make it less likely that you'll ever run into 
anyone from the deceased's family (because remember you'll have the 
same name and birth day as the deceased). 

    Foolproof, eh? Not quite. There's a very obvious problem. How do you 
know that someone else before you hasn't had the same idea and already 
used the identity? The first you'll know about it is when you have the 
police or FBI knocking on your door, wanting to know why you are 
requesting a drivers license or social security number for someone that's 
already got one. Now you could think to yourself, I'll do some research 
on an identity before I go ahead and use it. You could check phone 
listings across the country or get a private detective or information broker 
to check if anyone is using a particular name (they can get access to 
social security, drivers license records, etc that the general public can't). 
They may come back to you and say that there appears to be no one in 
the US with that name and date of birth, so you could think to yourself 
that it's safe to go ahead and use the identity. But wait a minute - the 
really scary thing is that someone may use the same identity in the future! 
You've got no control over that and you'll have no warning if it happens! 

    This method will ultimately disappear in time anyway. The IRS has 
recently commenced a policy of issuing social security numbers to 
infants (its actually connected with their parents being able to claim tax 
credits) - this means that should the child subsequently die this will be 
entered in the social security death index. Anyone subsequently trying to 
use that identity would therefore find it impossible to get a social security 
number, thus making it very difficult for anyone trying to live a normal 
life in the US. 

(3) Delayed record of birth 
    This is an interesting idea which, although it may require a 
considerable amount of research and preparation, could produce 
worthwhile results. 

    The concept here is that you provide the administration with enough 
evidence to convince them that your birth wasn't officially recorded at 
the time (not uncommon, see (A)(c) Does everyone have a birth 
certificate?). 

    The procedure is as follows. First, find a couple that were married but 
are now deceased. Do this by looking at family graves in cemeteries, and 
when you find a couple who could conceivably have been the right age to 
have been your parents, find any information you can from the cemetery 
office (family details, wife's maiden name, and where they died, etc). 
With this information you can always go to the nearest library and look 
in the obituary columns for additional information. 

    With this knowledge you can now contact the records office for the 
state or county where your "parents" lived, requesting a copy of your 
birth certificate, supplying your "parents" surname, plus any first names 
you have chosen and a new birthday (if you think at any stage people 
might come looking for you its probably wise not to use your actual 
birthday). 

    They will of course write back informing you that there is no record of 
your birth, but they should also enclose an application for a "delayed 
record of birth". Together with your completed application form, you will 
be expected to provide some proof of your identity in the form of 
documentation. This proof will vary from state to state or county to 
county. This is where your research and preparation is needed. You will 
have to previously have organized some proofs of ID, eg using a fake 
birth certificate in your new name to get a real drivers license or state ID 
card, etc. 

    If all goes well you should be supplied with a copy of your birth 
certificate, and more importantly, your "birth" will be officially recorded 
and verifiable, with no danger that it can be challenged at any time in the 
future. 

    Conclusion. You've read these different methods, so which do you 
think are the best options? It probably depends on what you require the 
new ID actually for. Basically, the more verifiable the birth certificate, 
the more doors it will open for you. If you are thinking of getting a social 
security number (which you will almost certainly need if you intend to 
live permanently in the US under the new identity, unless you intend to 
permanently exist in the black economy and not even have a bank 
account) or a passport, you can forget about using a poor quality fake or a 
baptismal certificate. In brief, a delayed issued birth certificate is the 
best, but it also requires the most work. Second best is probably a 
hospital birth certificate - it isn't actually verifiable, but on the other
hand it's virtually impossible to disprove and is generally accepted by the 
administration. Finally, a fake copy of a county certificate may suffice if 
it looks authentic and is always presented with other supporting 
documentation, the only disadvantage being it is potentially not verifiable 
if a clerk decides to check by contacting the county records office. We'll 
cover the requirements in the next sections for drivers licenses and social 
security numbers, which should be the next documents you acquire. 

(B) Social Security Number 
 (a) Do I need one? 
 (b) How do I get one? 

(a) Do I need a social security number? 
    Getting a social security card will not be easy, even if you have a 
verifiable birth certificate. But if you intend to live permanently in the 
US it's really a necessity - you need to give your employer your number, 
a bank will request your number when you try to open an account, utility 
companies will request the number if you require their services, since 
1996 applicants for professional licenses, commercial drivers licenses, 
occupational licenses and marriage licenses are required to give their 
number, and so on. Most states now require your number before issuing a 
drivers license (except for people who genuinely haven't got a number 
and aren't entitled to one, eg people not authorized to work in the US). 
The social security number has become a standard means of tracing 
people used by both government and private organizations. 

    You hear of people buying fake social security cards, but this isn't
a long term viable option - give a false number to your employer and the 
government computer will spit it back out within a few weeks. Since 
September 11th, businesses that employ large numbers of immigrant 
workers are stepping up efforts to identify and dismiss employees 
without proper work documentation. Currently, out of the six and a half 
million businesses that report to the Social Security Administration, the 
SSA sends out about 110,000 notices a year to workers with incorrect 
SSN's. Giving a false number to a bank (to open a bank account) doesn't 
currently appear to be a problem. If you look at cases of identity theft,
in many cases the fraudsters open accounts in the names of legitimate 
people, but give phony SSN's. 

    Life without a valid number is only really possible if you have 
independent means (maybe in off-shore accounts) or you work in the 
black economy, or maybe you're not a US citizen and you need to spend 
more time in the US than your visitors visa would allow. 
  
(b) How do I get a social security number? 
    This is the tricky part. The easiest way to apply is by post - you just 
send in the appropriate form with whatever proof of ID they request, and 
you get back in the post your social security number. The difficulty is 
that this method is only open to children and teenagers - anyone over the 
age of eighteen has to apply in person. But don't completely rule out this 
method - apparently it is feasible to apply as a child by sending in an 
altered version of your birth certificate, changing your birthday, the ages 
of your "parents", etc. You will receive back a social security number, 
the only drawback being that your age will be wrong on the system. This 
is not an immediate problem because your age or date of birth does not 
appear on your social security card, but it will mean you will not be able 
to work until the system believes you have reached working age - the 
administration will not be expecting tax returns from fourteen year olds. 

    If you intend to take the other route and apply as an adult you will 
need a convincing story why you do not already have a number. Your 
options are rather limited - you can always say you have lived abroad 
since leaving college, or been in a mental asylum! You'll have to give 
some thought to this. The clerk interviewing you is naturally going to be 
suspicious of maybe someone in their thirties or forties claiming never to 
have had a social security number. 

    However, before you become too disheartened remember that over 
five million numbers are issued every year, that's a hundred thousand a 
week! The administration isn't going to spend hours researching your 
application. A recent audit of SSN applications noted that out of 3,557 
applications, 999 of them had submitted "improper documentation" and 
yet still been approved for SSN's. Again it's all down to preparation and 
research. 

    Plus, it is also worth noting that at the moment there is no link between 
the Social Security Administration and the Immigration and Naturalization
Service to check the validity of immigration documentation or visas that are
submitted by non-citizens with their applications. 

    Do it right and you should get through. Its worth visiting the Social 
Security Administrations site on the web (see "Links" at the very end) - 
there's a wealth of information here, also including an explanation of how 
the nine digit number is made up (the number contains information 
showing when and where it was issued - basically the first 3 digits 
indicate where the number was issued, the next 2 digits when issued, and 
the last 4 digits are issued consecutively). 
  
  
(C) Drivers License 
    A drivers license is really essential - it's the standard form of photo
ID. For example, some hotels and motels won't now accept a credit card 
unless it's backed up by a photo ID. For everyday purposes like this a 
fake license would suffice, particularly from a state different to the one 
you're living in (all states issue their own license and they all differ in 
appearance). 

    If you intend to drive you need a drivers license. But if you get 
stopped by the police and you show them a fake license, no matter how 
authentic it looks they will verify it on-line and you will be in big 
trouble. 

    So, how do you get a drivers license? You will need to apply in the 
state in which you are resident, and as well as taking a driving test you 
will need to supply them with a whole load of information, the point 
being the license is regarded as being a proof of ID. The motor vehicle 
department in most states contains the following information: 
- Full name
- Date of birth
- Home address
- Telephone number
- Marital status
- Height and weight
- Eye and hair color
- Medical data
- Social security number (now required by most states)
Plus, your file will also contain details of the documents used to apply for 
the license

    It used to be possible to get a real drivers license by taking in a fake 
license from another state, and asking to exchange it for one from that 
state. However, a recent development is the NDR (National Drivers 
Register) - states can now do an on-line check to verify a license, the 
purpose being to stop drivers who have had their license suspended in 
one state applying for a license in another state.     But if you've got a 
birth certificate and some supporting documentation, there is no reason 
why you should not get a drivers license. The documentation you need to 
supply will vary from state to state, and you may need to supply some 
secondary documentation (see the next section "Secondary 
Identification"), but this should not be a problem, and maybe a proof of 
residency (for example a utility bill or letter from the IRS or your bank). 

    What if you haven't got a social security number? This isn't an 
insoluble problem. You may be able to get away with giving them a fake 
number, dependent on which state you are in. Currently fifteen states do 
instant on-line verification, so they will check your number whilst you're 
actually at the DMV office applying for your license. Thirty-two states 
do not check at all. California checks in batches (it's cheaper that way) so 
you'll get a temporary license in California if you give an incorrect social 
security number, but you'll never get your permanent license. 
Check out this website -it's got some very interesting info on the 
information different states require when issuing drivers licenses, 
although I would recommend you check any of this information to see 
whether or not it's still current. 
   www.networkusa.org/fingerprint/page4/fp-04-page4-winners-losers.html 

    As mentioned in the section on social security numbers, it is actually 
possible in some states to get a drivers license without having a social 
security number - if a drivers license applicant does not have an SSN, in 
Florida for example, he will be referred to the local Social Security 
Administration Office where he will be assessed. If the applicant does 
not meet the requirements to be issued with a SSN (eg not authorized to 
work in the US), then he will be issued with a notice explaining this, 
which the DMV will accept as proof that the applicant does not have or 
require a SSN. 

    After September 11th, there was controversy about the practice of the 
four states of Tennessee, North Carolina, Utah and Virginia in issuing 
drivers licenses to illegal aliens. They were issuing licenses to people 
without SSN's and proper documentation (often accepting almost 
anything as proof of residence). The theory behind this was that these 
states didn't want thousands of untested, uninsured and unlicensed drivers 
on their roads. They knew it was a controversial move, because giving 
licenses to illegal immigrants was giving them valid US ID. Since 
September 11th there has been some tightening up of requirements to 
obtain a license. It's probably worth visiting the websites of these four 
states to see what their current requirements are for issuing a license: 
Utah - www.driverlicense.utah.gov   If you have no SSN they will accept 
an ITIN - this is an "Individual Taxpayer Identification Number" issued 
by the IRS.
North Carolina - www.dmv.dot.state.nc.us/driverlicense/   Same as Utah 
now - no SSN means you'll need an ITIN. When it became known that 
the state was issuing licenses to illegal aliens, it was flooded with 
applicants. According to the DMV, an estimated 400,000 licenses have 
been issued by the state since 1997 to people without an SSN.
Virginia - www.dmv.state.va.us   If you do not have an SSN (or you do 
not wish your SSN to be displayed on you license) Virginia will issue an 
alternative number.
Tennessee - www.state.tn.us/safety/listinfo.htm and see also page for 
SSN rules www.state.tn.us/safety/dl/ssn.htm   You need to sign an 
affidavit to confirm that you've never had an SSN.

    In addition, it's also worth checking out the current ID requirements 
for the more rural states with smaller populations. These states are going 
to have the least problems with illegal immigrants, crime, identity thefts, 
etc, so that they will have the fewest measures implemented to deal with 
them. Also it must be remembered that they don't want to bring in new 
security measures unless they have to because it costs money, which has 
to come out of their existing budgets. 

    Because the laws of each state change all the time, your only really 
safe course of action is to visit the DMV web sites of the various states 
you are considering applying for a license in. The web sites will have an 
up to date list of their current ID requirements.    Finally, when you go 
for your license the clerks have a habit of taking all your paperwork from 
you then casually asking you questions about it so ensure that you know 
all your details, e.g. date of birth. Also, they may well be curious why if 
maybe you're in your thirties or forties and you haven't already got a 
drivers license. So, it's wise to have a ready explanation - maybe you've 
lived in Canada for the last twenty years. 

    I haven't mentioned it before so I'll mention it here. When you're 
attending any face-to-face interviews, always go respectably dressed. 
Also try and go at a busy time (e.g. lunchtime) so that they won't be able 
to spend too long with you. It's also wise not to carry anything that shows 
your real identity, just in case they start to get suspicious and try to
detain you (these places usually have security guards). 

(D). Passport 
    This is really the final document in the chain of documents you can 
get. You may not necessarily need a passport - if you don't intend 
travelling outside the US, Canada or Mexico, you won't need one. 

    If you do need a passport, then you need a real one - forget about 
fakes. When travelling through US customs your passport will be 
scanned by computers to verify it. 

    Like with drivers licenses and social security numbers, thousands of 
applications are processed every week, so unless you do anything stupid 
and draw attention to yourself, your application should proceed 
smoothly. 

    You can either apply at a post office or local courthouse, or at a 
passport office in a large city. It may be best to avoid applying in cities 
like New York and Los Angeles because they have a high incidence of 
fraudulent applications and so are more vigilant in looking for them. 

    The good thing about applying at a local post office or courthouse is 
that they keep your birth certificate for verification by the State 
Department and will reply by post to your mail drop, enclosing 
(hopefully) your birth certificate and new passport - but if it goes wrong, 
at least they can't trace you any further than the mail box. The bad thing 
about this method is that your birth certificate is likely to be more closely 
scrutinized because it will be looked at by people who are used to 
examining them and are more likely to spot a fake. 

    Applying in person at a passport office may seem like going into the 
lion's den, but it may be worth considering. They will not keep your birth 
certificate for verification, it will be looked at there and then, and 
presuming all is well your passport will follow shortly after in the post. 
The very fact that they don't keep your birth certificate shows that they 
don't actually crosscheck it with the actual records office in the state or 
county where it was issued. However, it does appear that they can do 
some sort of simple verification on the actual state birth number on state 
issued birth certificates (see (A)(d)(1) "Producing a fake birth 
certificate"). How they verify county issued certificates with locally 
issued numbers, or hospital certificates is open to question. Presumably, 
it depends on the amount of supporting documentation, the actual 
appearance of the birth certificate (whether it looks authentic or not) and 
the demeanor/appearance of the applicant. 

    Looking at it logically, they aren't going to verify every birth 
certificate at source. It just wouldn't be possible- the issuing of birth 
certificates is too decentralized, and trying to verify them would create
an enormous backlog in the system. 

    Of course, you will have none of these worries about your birth 
certificate if it's a real one procured by the delayed record of birth 
method (see (A)(d)(3) Delayed record of birth). Providing your 
supporting documentation is adequate, getting a passport should be easy. 

    The only proviso with all of this is that it might look strange if all
your supporting documentation is all recently issued - the clerk dealing with 
you might find this suspicious. 

SECONDARY IDENTIFICATION (USA)
1. State ID card. 
2. Library card. 
3. Miscellaneous ID. 

  1. State ID Card 
    This is a form of photo ID carried by people who don't have a drivers 
license (maybe they are elderly and don't drive, or maybe there are 
medical reasons for them not driving). If you haven't yet got a drivers 
license this is a useful thing to have because it has as the same official 
status as a drivers license, but is usually easier to get. 

    They are usually available via the county courthouse and take two 
weeks to come through. Because the clerks (unlike at the drivers license 
bureau) aren't having to look for suspended drivers trying to get a license 
in another state, they are usually less rigorous. 

2. Library Card 
    Not a photo ID, but still useful to have. Most libraries request two 
forms of ID. Usually one can be your birth certificate, and the other one 
may be something simple like letters addressed to you. Again, this 
usually takes two weeks to come through. 

3. Miscellaneous 
    You can always enroll yourself on a short course at a local college and 
get yourself a student card. You can print yourself some business cards 
on your computer - as for an address and phone number on your cards, 
see "Establishing a Mailing Address". You can order yourself a fake 
employee ID card from a mail order ID company. Voter registration 
cards are often not difficult to get - clerks will often give you a blank one 
to fill out, and you just need to stamp it to make it look official (you can 
order stamps from mail-order ID companies or from office equipment 
suppliers). Or what about Native American tribal ID? You don't have to 
look like a tribal member (you are often entitled to this status even if you 
only have a single great grand-parent who was a native). These native 
ID's are usually very unsophisticated in appearance, and not difficult to 
reproduce on a computer. Plus, they have the great advantage of being 
very difficult to verify (particularly from a distant state) and clerks do
not like to question them for fear of being accused of racism. You can join 
clubs, societies or unions and get their membership cards. 

    The basic rules with any of theses secondary ID's is that they add to 
the credibility of your new identity, particularly when used selectively. 
What I mean is always try to use them in situations where they cannot be 
verified. Never use a fake document in any dealings with the actual 
agency that is supposed to have issued it - always use it with other 
agencies, preferably in other states. 

Bank Accounts and Credit Cards 
    Before opening an account, most banks check the name, address and 
SSN with a company called ChexSystem. This company has a database 
of people whose accounts have been terminated for fraud or chronic 
insufficient funds during the past five years. 

    ChexSystems are covered by the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and the 
bank is required to let you know if it refuses to open an account for you 
and a report from ChexSystems was a factor. 

    You will need some basic identification to open an account - social 
security number, state ID card or drivers license, etc (banks are very 
aware of fraudsters, money launderers, etc, so they like to satisfy them 
about your identity). You may get away with giving them a fake social 
security number as long as no one else is using that number (they will 
check you nationwide with a credit reference bureau), although you could 
of course run into problems in the future if the real owner of that number 
tries to open an account in the future. Be aware also when giving fake 
numbers that computer programs exist to verify whether or not a number 
could have been potentially issued (numbers aren't randomly issued, they 
come from specific batches for each state). 

    If providing a social security number is going to cause you a problem, 
why not open an account as a foreigner, e.g. a Canadian. Tell them you 
have just arrived in the states to work or study. They will still need some 
ID from you, but it shouldn't be beyond your ability to come up with 
some fake Canadian ID, which of course the bank won't be able to verify 
or disprove because it's from another country. 

    Regarding credit cards, if you have a new identity, you won't have any 
credit history so you won't be able to apply for a conventional credit card. 
However, a recent innovation is the secured credit card - this is a Visa or 
MasterCard, where your credit limit is secured by a deposit you must 
maintain in your bank account. 

    The deposit can be anything from a few hundred dollars to several 
thousand if you want a gold card. Once the card is issued to you, you can 
spend anything up to the agreed amount - there is no risk to the bank 
because you are only spending your own money. The amount of the 
security deposit normally varies between 125% and 150% of the credit 
line requested. Make sure that you compare the annual fees and fees for 
cash withdrawals, etc - unfortunately, these cards usually have higher 
costs involved than a normal unsecured card. 

   There are numerous such cards on offer in the US, normally however 
with the stipulation that you must be a US resident and have a SSN 
number (this is for cards offered by US financial institutions). If you 
want a card without any such requirements, go for an offshore card. It 
will still be a US dollar card, but from a bank in a tax haven. They 
require the minimum personal information from you. 

    You can do a search on the net for them, but be careful not to be taken 
in by any scam sites. There are web sites that appear to offer off-shore 
cards but in reality they are just multi-level marketing scams - send in 
$200 to join the scheme, then recruit others who also pay $200, some of 
which money goes into your account, and when you reach $1000 in the 
account you will be issued with your credit card... except of course you 
never get a card because it's a scam. 

   There are a couple of cards that I've come across that appear to be okay: 
www.axxess-international.com
www.horizoncard.tc

CHANGING YOUR NAME (USA)
     It may be that you have created a new identity, but it isn't in the name 
you ultimately wish to use. The answer is to change your name - it's legal 
and it's not difficult. There are two ways to do it: The Common Law 
method. This doesn't actually involve any legal process. You simply need 
to provide proof that you are generally known by a name other than your 
legal name, the proof being such commonplace things as correspondence, 
invoices, etc.
The Court method. By filing a petition with a court to change your name.

    There are good and bad points to each method. The court method 
creates a cast iron identity, easily verifiable. However, it does create a 
trail, which could be followed if you are being pursued. You don't have 
to do the name change in the state in which you intend to settle, in fact it 
may be preferable to do it in another state if you don't want to draw any 
attention to yourself (although you will need to show proof that you are 
actually resident in that state, which may involve renting a cheap room 
there). 

    Once your new name is legal, you can then proceed to have your 
existing documentation amended (drivers license, social security card, 
etc). 

Whilst on the subject of names, it may be worthwhile here mentioning 
something to give you a little food for thought. If you are trying to escape 
an old life and wish to create a new identity, you will probably have to 
think about getting a job and earning a living. How are you going to do 
this? Won't you need qualifications? Why not give yourself some 
qualifications? You could of course buy yourself a fake diploma, but it's 
not verifiable if an employer ever tries to check it out. What you really 
need is a proper college degree. Easy! Colleges and universities keep 
records open to the public of who graduated, and when they graduated 
and with what degree. Just choose a suitable person with a commonplace 
name and borrow their name and degree. I am not suggesting you borrow 
their whole identity - you'll have a different birth date, social security 
number and so on, but you will have a verifiable educational history. You 
aren't running much of a risk - thousands of people in the US share the 
same names, and some of those with the same names will have similar 
college degrees. 
   

CAN I BE TRACED IN MY NEW IDENTITY? (USA)

What information do employers require from me? 
    Under the Employer Sanctions law, employers are required to check 
the documents of all workers that are hired, to confirm both the identity 
of the employee and that also he is entitled to work. Documents that 
prove both identity and entitlement to work are: 
List A 
 1. US passport 
 2. Green card (INS Form I-551) 
 3. Unexpired Employment Authorization Card (INS Form I-688A) 
 4. Unexpired Employment Authorization Document with photograph 
    (INS Form I-688B) 
 5. Unexpired Temporary Resident Card (INS Form I-688) 
 6. Unexpired Reentry Permit (INS Form I-327) 
 7. Unexpired Refugee Travel Document (INS Form I-571) 
Documents that only prove identity are: 
List B 
 1. ID card (can be state, federal or local government) 
 2. Drivers license 
 3. Voters registration card 
 4. School ID card with a photograph 
 5. Canadian drivers license 
 6. Native American tribal document 
 7. US military card or draft record 
 8. Military dependents ID card 
 9. US coastguard merchant mariner card 
Documents that only prove authority to work are: 
List C 
 1. US social security card (does not include cards that state on them "Not 
    for employment purposes") 
 2. US citizen ID card (INS Form I-97) 
 3. ID card for use of Resident Citizen in the United States (INS Form I-179) 
 4. Unexpired Employment Authorization document issued by the INS 
    other than those mentioned in the list A 
 5. Native American tribal document (yes I know this is on both B and C 
    lists, but not on list A which seems peculiar - don't worry about it) 

Documents that can't be used as proof of identity and authorization to 
work include, surprisingly: 
 1. US birth certificate 
 2. Certificate of US citizenship (INS Form N-560 or 561) 
 3. Certificate of US Naturalization (INS Form N-550 or 570) 

Both employee and employer must complete and sign Form I-9, the 
employee signing that he is authorized to work, and the employer signing 
to confirm that he has made efforts to establish the employee is 
authorized to work, although there is no actual requirement for the 
employer to do any checks to confirm the legitimacy of any documents. 
For an employer to verify a social security number, he can call a toll free 
number (1-800-772-6270) and quote the following info: 
 1. Social security number 
 2. Last name 
 3. First name and middle initial 
 4. Date of birth 
 5. Sex 

The employer is not obliged to verify numbers - this is simply a service 
offered in case there is any doubt over whether or not a number is 
correct. 

Can anyone else trace me? 
    If you are concerned that people from your "past" life may be looking 
for you, it pays to take some simple but obvious precautions. Firstly, 
don't have any financial transactions linking you and your old life. Don't 
transfer money between bank accounts because a record is kept, don't pay 
for things in your new life with credit cards from your old life because it 
may give an indication of where you are and what you're doing. 
Secondly, consider your lifestyle - people tend to be creatures of habit. 
Do you always drive BMW's, or subscribe to particular trade magazines, 
go to a particular church. If a private detective is looking for you they 
will find out these sorts of things and use their skills to get information 
out of any organizations or businesses you may have had contact with. 
Thirdly, be careful who you talk to about your plans - have you ever 
mentioned to people that you'd like to live in Florida? It might be better 
to go somewhere where people wouldn't expect you to go. Plus of course, 
it's probably a good idea only to phone anyone from your old life from 
payphones in random locations, just in case anyone is monitoring their 
phone records. 
  
GENERAL VISA INFORMATION (USA)
    If you're reading this in another country and wondering if you can use 
any of the information you have read so far, it may be useful for you to 
have some background information about how, as a foreign citizen, you 
can legally get into the US, and live and work there. This can be sub-
divided into two categories: 
(A). Entry into the US as an immigrant 
(B). Entry into the US as a non-immigrant

(A). Entry into the US as an immigrant 
    For any kind of permanent residence (compared to a temporary entry 
visa), you need an immigrant visa, usually called a Green Card. There are 
many actual categories in which you may qualify for a green card, but 
they can be summarized as the following: 
  1. Family based. Being an immediate relative of a US citizen or 
permanent resident (this category includes children, parents, husbands, 
wives, brothers and sisters). 
  2. Employment based. Covers a wide variety of different areas, 
particularly including skilled or highly qualified workers (usually where 
it can be proved that no US citizen is available to do the job) and 
investors (people willing to bring in and invest hundreds of thousands of 
dollars in the US). 
  3. Visa lottery. Every year 50,000 or 55,000 green cards are given out in 
a visa lottery by the US Dept of State (entry to the lottery is not open to 
everyone - generally speaking it's only open to citizens of under-
developed countries, not countries like Britain or Germany, etc). 
  4. Asylum/refugee status. For people with well founded fears of being 
persecuted in their own country for reasons of religion, race, politics, etc. 
    You become a US citizen by a process of naturalization, a process 
administered by the INS (the Immigration and Naturalization Service). 
Theoretically, when you become a US citizen you are supposed to 
renounce any other citizenships (meaning you won't have dual 
nationality). In practice, however, firstly the administration won't know if 
you retain any other citizenship, and secondly, not all countries recognize 
you renouncing their citizenship (so you retain it anyway). 

(B) Entry into the US as a non-immigrant 
    This type of visa does not allow permanent entry to the US. It is what 
most people entering the US enter with, and it allows them entry for any 
period from a few hours to several years for vacations, business 
meetings, study, temporary work, etc, depending on the type of visa 
issued. 

    The usual method of obtaining a visa is by applying to a US consulate 
in your own country. Sometimes you are allowed to mail in an 
application, although usually you will be asked to attend an interview, the 
purpose of which is to filter out undesirables or people who might 
overstay their visa in order to illegally live and work in the US. 

    The exception to this method of obtaining a visa is for citizens of those 
countries (certain developed countries) which the US has a visa waiver 
program with. As a business or pleasure visitor, you will be allowed 
entry into the US for up to 90 days on production of your passport at a 
US border. This method of entry is still dependent on them being 
satisfied with your reasons for travelling - you must still have a residence 
abroad that you have not abandoned, generally a return ticket to get you 
out of the US, and means to support yourself whilst in the US. Again, it's 
to stop people over-staying their visas and living and working in the US.

    If you're from a visa waiver country, don't get paranoid about this. If 
you arrive on a regular flight and of normal appearance, you'll be asked 
the reason for your visit and maybe how long you're staying, and that will 
be it. Your passport will be stamped and you're in. You're likely to get 
more questions if you're crossing at land borders - not so if you're with 
your family in a nice rental car crossing from Canada into the US and 
you're heading for a few days vacation at a resort, but you'll get grief if 
you're alone, poorly dressed, with hardly any money and no return ticket 
to your country of origin. 

    Here's the list of non-immigrant visas. It's surprising how many types 
there are:
A-1, 2. and 3.  For ambassadors, government officials/employees and
  associates.
B-1. Temporary visitor for business
B-2. Temporary visitor for pleasure
C-1, 2 and D-1, 2. Transit visas for travelers transiting via the US
E-1, 2. For investors and workers of certain countries that have treaties 
  with the US
F-1. Students
G-1, 2, 3, 4. For workers in international organizations (eg, the UN)
H-2A, 2B, 3, 4. For temporary and trainee workers, and spouse and
  dependents
I. International journalist
J-1, 2. Exchange visitors (usually students and researchers) and their 
  spouse and dependents
K-1, 2. For someone entering the US to marry a US citizen. Although 
  this is a non-immigrant visa you will be interviewed and assessed as 
  though it were for an immigrant visa (to verify both whether your 
  relationship is authentic and whether you will become a "public charge", 
  e.g. a criminal or dependent on welfare)
L-1, 2. Intra-company employees and their spouse and dependents (for 
  employees of large international companies)
M-1, 2. Technical or vocational school students, and their spouse and 
  dependents
N-1.  The parent of certain unmarried minors who are special immigrants
N-2.  The unmarried minor child of an N-1 and the unmarried minor 
  child of certain special immigrants
NATO-1 to 7. For NATO staff, their spouses and dependents
O-1, 2 and P-1, 2, 3 and 4. For highly talented or internationally 
  recognized athletes, artists, business people, with their spouses and 
  dependents.
Q-1, 2. Cultural exchange visitors, their spouses and dependents to come 
  to the US for up to 15 months
Q (ii). Irish peace process - for people from Northern Ireland to 
  participate in training courses and programs, etc
R-1, 2. For religious workers, their spouses and dependents
S-1, 2. For criminal informants, their spouses and dependents
TN. For NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) professionals 
  coming to the US to work (this applies to Canadians and Mexicans).

    If you're looking at this list wondering whether you can utilize any of 
the above methods to enter and live in the US, I'll try to give you a few 
pointers. The US administration does actually investigate each 
individual request for work, study or cultural visas. They will want to see 
background information on you if you are claiming to be some kind of 
specialist. If you are being offered a job they will check that the company 
does exist and wasn't formed just a few days ago. Some ideas for foreign 
nationals 

    If, for example, you are from a European country and are wondering 
how you could create a new ID and pass yourself off in the US as a 
citizen of that country, why not turn your problem to your advantage? It 
is possible to be a US citizen and still be born and brought up in another 
country. How? Easy, if one of your parents was a US citizen, lots of 
people have traveled overseas, then met and married someone abroad. If 
one of your parents was a US citizen, then you are automatically a US 
citizen too. The US administration will need to authenticate your claim. 
You'll need to prepare some documentation for your US parent - 
probably a copy of a verifiable birth certificate. Or, alternatively, you 
could claim to have been born in the US and then taken overseas as a 
child. Again, you would have to verify this claim. 

    Or, here's another idea. Why not try one of the above methods, but also 
as a backup plan try the same scheme with Canada? If you can get 
Canadian citizenship it's then easy to enter to the US anyway (you only 
need a drivers license to cross the border - a passport isn't necessary). 
You can also work in the US indefinitely if you are a professional with a 
college degree (or the equivalent) under H-1B or TN visa status. 

 LINKS (USA)
Mail-order books on new ID 
www.paladin-press.com 
www.edenpress.com 
www.loompanics.com General resources 
www.buildfreedom.com/ft/identity.htm                Info on new ID 
www.buildfreedom.com/ft/social_security.htm      Info on social security cards 
www.escapeartist.com                         Magazine for people living abroad 
www.lds.org              Mormon Church - very useful for genealogical research 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Government information 
www.vitalrec.com      Contains links to US records 
www.fedworld.gov      Search for Federal Govt info 
www.state.gov         US State Dept (passport info) 
www.ins.usdoj.gov     US Immigration and Naturalization Service 
                      (Forms to download. Info on eligibility for immigration) 
www.dol.gov           US Dept of Labor 
www.ssa.gov         US Social Security Admin (informative, good search engine) 
  
 WHY CANADA?
   Canada is a very cosmopolitan country, with a great mix of 
nationalities. Toronto and Vancouver are two of the world's most racially 
mixed cities. It will not be regarded as being unusual to have a foreign or 
strange accent. Not only are there a lot of newcomers in Canada, but also 
many native Canadians have lived abroad (eg studying or working in the 
US) and they can come back to Canada with, for example, American 
accents. So, what I'm getting at is that it you, as an outsider, will not 
stand out in Canada.   I should just mention here, for the benefit of those 
people reading this who are from outside North America, that accents, 
pronunciations and use of words do vary across the USA and Canada. 
There are some accents that are obvious to the outsider (eg, New York or 
the deep south), but there are also much subtler differences. So even 
though someone from Vancouver (Canada) may sound very similar to 
someone from Seattle (USA), there would be subtle differences in their 
speech. One particularly noticeable difference between Canadians and 
Americans is that Canadians pronounce certain words the same way as 
English people. 

  The moral of all this, I think, is that if you intend to assume a new 
identity in Canada, it's going to be a lot easier for you (if you're not 
actually a native Canadian) to openly admit that you've spent most of 
your life overseas and not in Canada. 

  The second advantage of Canada is its ease of access to the US. 
Canadian citizens need only to carry their driver's license to cross the 
border. There are no visa formalities. It is also possible for Canadians
to work in the US, subject to certain formalities. 

  A third advantage that Canada has is its own low cost national medical 
system. For a monthly payment (about $36 (Cdn) currently) you are 
covered in Canada for medical treatment. 
  
GENERAL PRINCIPLES (CANADA)
  Much of what was written about the USA applies, in general terms, to 
Canada. As in the USA the advent of computers has made crosschecking 
documents much easier, although (similar to the US) this is slightly 
complicated by the fact that Canada is split into Provinces (as the US is 
split into states).   There has been as yet no attempt to criminalize those 
attempting to obtain a new identity - there is no specific legislation on 
this subject, and there is probably unlikely to be so. It's not regarded as 
an issue requiring attention. Most of the world seems to want to live in 
the US, not Canada. 

  As in the US, you'll need a mailbox because much of the procedure can 
be done by post. 

  So, what ID do Canadians have? 
Birth Certificate. If you're not familiar with Canada, you'll be surprised
to find that people carry a credit card sized birth certificate actually on 
them, and (unlike the USA) these are considered as proper ID (although, 
of course, they don't carry a photo - they wouldn't, would they, it's a birth 
certificate). The large paper certificates have not been issued since the 
early 1960's, when they were replaced by laminated cards, and since the 
early 1990's cards printed on green bank note type paper. The cards carry 
the following information: name, date of birth, date of birth registration, 
birthplace, sex, registration number, and in some provinces a certificate 
number Those people who are Canadian citizens, but who were born 
outside of Canada carry a credit card sized Citizenship card (with a 
photograph).  Until the middle of the 1990's birth certificates were issued 
in Quebec only by the Church - this meant that the authorities had no 
means of verifying these certificates when they were presented as proof 
of ID. A recent high profile terrorist case has forced the authorities to act 
and now these Church birth certificates are not regarded as valid proofs 
of ID.
Social Insurance Card. 

A wallet sized plastic card with your social insurance number and 
signature. Carried by everyone and considered (again, unlike the USA) 
proper ID, because you need to be a legitimate resident to have one. The 
card is necessary if you wish to gain employment in Canada - any 
employer will ask for your social insurance number and Revenue Canada 
will immediately pick up any wrong numbers. However, non-residents 
are actually allowed to start businesses in Canada (Canada still 
encourages immigration and investment), although theoretically you are 
not actually supposed to work in any business you start, although people 
obviously do.

Medical ID card, allowing you free medical treatment across Canada.

Drivers License. Obviously you need one if you wish to drive, but it also 
acts as your photo ID. Those people that don't drive carry a Provincial ID 
card as their photo ID.

FORMS OF ID (CANADA)
A. Birth Certificate 
B. Social Insurance Card 
C. Medical ID Card 
D. Drivers License 
E. Citizenship Card A. Birth Certificate 

  A birth certificate is the foundation document of your Canadian identity. 
People seeking a new identity have the choice of either faking a 
certificate, or obtaining a copy of a real certificate actually issued to 
someone else and using that one. 

  This last method involves using the well-publicized procedure of 
borrowing the identity of someone who died as a child. The idea being 
that you look in old newspapers or on old gravestones for the details of
a deceased child, who, had he lived would be the same age (roughly) as 
you are now. You then apply for a copy of his death certificate, which 
should give you enough information to apply for a copy of his birth 
certificate. When you have the birth certificate you have the foundation 
of a completely "virgin" identity - virgin because there will be no social 
security numbers, criminal records, and so on, in that name because the 
child never lived into adulthood. However, because of the ease and 
simplicity of this plan, it's very likely that if you find a suitable identity 
to borrow, someone else may have already got there before you. But the 
problem is you won't know that, until you start applying for drivers 
licenses, etc, and you have the police visiting you, wanting to know why 
there are two people with the same name, same birthday and same place 
of birth. 

  Reproducing one of the modern card type birth certificates would be 
difficult for anyone unless they were skilled in such matters. It is 
technically possible, if you have the necessary computer equipment, 
including a high quality scanner and printer, and also the correct paper, 
which is of a bank note type. However, it would probably be a lot easier 
to approach someone in the US to reproduce one for you. 

  The older type large paper certificates (used until the early 1960's) 
would be much easier to reproduce on a home computer. If you want to 
look at a certificate from this period, look up the birth announcements in 
an old newspaper and apply for a copy of the certificate. As in the US, 
theoretically only eligible applicants (ie next of kin) can apply for a copy 
of a certificate, but it would not be difficult to manufacture some fake ID 
to satisfy this requirement. Birth certificates in Canada are issued by 
individual provinces, not by the national government. 

  An older type certificate could be scanned into a computer, the details 
erased and replaced with new details, and a new certificate reproduced. 
Unlike US certificates, Canadian ones do not have any embossed or 
raised seal, and they were printed on the same paper across Canada 
(whereas in the US this varied from state to state, county to county, year 
to year). 

  You may think, what use is one of the old type certificates to me - 
surely I need one of the newer card types? Well yes, you do. But you 
could always apply to the Vital Statistics Agency in the province where 
you were "born" to change your certificate for a new type, saying you 
were born in Canada but had left the country as a child with your parents, 
hence you did not have a current type. The only potential problem here 
being that the Vital Statistics Agency could recognize your document as 
a fake if it chooses to do a check on its validity by analyzing and 
crosschecking the birth registration number on the certificate, plus in 
some provinces there is also a certificate number. 

B. Social Insurance Card 
   The Social Insurance Number (SIN) was introduced in 1964 to provide 
Unemployment Insurance, Canada Pension Plan and Quebec Pension 
Plan clients with a file number. Then in 1967 it became a file identifier 
for Revenue Canada. In 1976 the Proof of Identity Program was 
established to verify the identity and status of applicants for SIN's. The 
Human Resources Department of Canada (HRDC) is responsible for 
issuing SIN's and maintaining the database. 

   Employers must ask to see the SIN card of all new employees and the 
employee must show it within 3 days of starting employment. 

    The HRDC is aware that there are problems with the issuing of SIN's 
and the maintenance of the database: 
Not all deaths are recorded nor departures from the country, causing a 
significant gap between the number of SIN holders and the size of the 
population - in 1999 there were 3.8 million more SIN's allocated to 
people 20 years or older than there were people living in Canada in that 
age group.
No program currently checks revenue data and Employment Insurance 
data to determine whether a SIN remains in active use. THIS IS 
CHANGING - SEE BELOW.

Many temporary SIN's are issued (for example to asylum seekers, 
temporary workers, etc) but no expiry date is assigned to the cards - the 
SIN can be used indefinitely. Between 1976 and 1999 1,242,000 
temporary SIN's were issued. In 1998 some 680,000 of these SIN's were 
still in use, and 60% were over 5 years old - a long period of time for a 
temporary number. This is obviously caused by SIN holders remaining in 
Canada long after they are entitled to.
Data is not shared between different government programs. For example, 
Revenue Canada does not provide the SIR (Social Insurance Register) 
with corrections it makes to taxpayers files when it notes discrepancies
in date of birth, name, etc.

Currently there is no attempt to verify documentation presented as proof 
of ID (eg. birth certificate) when an application is received for a SIN. 
This is largely because at its inception, the SIN was intended purely to 
act as a file identifier (account number) for certain government programs. 
It is only since then that it has come to be regarded as a personal 
identifier, or even as an identity card. THIS IS CHANGING - SEE 
BELOW.
There are few effective measures to prevent SIN fraud. The Employment 
Insurance Act states that the penalty for committing any offences related 
to the SIN is a fine of up to $1000 and/or imprisonment for up to one 
year. Very few perpetrators are caught, and even then, criminal charges 
are rarely brought.
In general, mailed applications are believed to represent a greater risk of 
fraud than in-person applications because certified copies are accepted, 
which themselves could have been certified fraudulently. THIS HAS 
CHANGED - SEE BELOW.

  There is a site on the web that will do the verification for you on-line 
(www.sirius.on.ca/running/sin_check.html). 
Applying for a number you need a primary piece of identification (most 
people would use a birth certificate or citizenship card) and you would 
apply in person at a Human Resources Centre of Canada, HRCC (these 
used to be known as Canadian Employment Centers). It is possible to 
apply by mail order if you live in a remote location, so if you preferred to 
do it that way you could rent a mail box in a remote town. 

  It is not unusual for older people to be granted numbers because there is 
a constant flow of migrants coming to settle in Canada. 

  Human Resources Development Canada has an excellent web site full 
of information about applying for a Social Insurance Number 
(www.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca). 
Changes announced October 2002, "to protect the integrity of the SIN" 
Because of the flaws in the system, the HRDC announced a number of 
measures to fight fraud and abuse of the SIN: 
Only original documents will be accepted as proof of ID, and the number 
of acceptable documents is being reduced. So it is no longer possible to 
send certified copies by mail. Henceforth, if applying by mail, you need 
to send the originals.
Since August 1, 2002, baptismal certificates from Quebec or 
Newfoundland have not been acceptable as proof of ID.
Effectively immediately, the HRDC will deactivate any SINs that have 
been inactive for 5 years.
The HRDC is seeking to introduce expiry dates for all people who are not 
Canadian citizens or permanent residents.
HRDC staffs are being trained to recognize fake documents, and use such 
techniques as are necessary (eg ultraviolet light)

In addition, the HRDC is working on a project to verify birth information 
provided by applicants with the vital statistics departments in all the 
various provinces. So far, they have done this with New Brunswick, and 
are currently working with British Columbia. 

  C. Medical ID card 
  To obtain a card, contact the local office of Medical Service Plan and 
they will send you a form to fill in. The forms vary from province to 
province, but generally only require basic information and a copy of a 
birth certificate. If a social security number is requested, it will not 
necessarily be crosschecked. It's only required in case at some time in the 
future you become unemployed and request premium assistance. 

D. Drivers License 
    It's a PVC card showing a photo, date of birth, address, license 
number, date of issue and expiry, signature, eye color, hair color, weight, 
height, and sex. 

  Apply in person to your local Motor Vehicle Office (look in the "Links" 
section below to see links to offices in different provinces). The system
is administered at provincial level, so varies slightly from province to 
province. You will be required to take a written or computer test, and an 
actual road test. You don't need to provide a social insurance number 
(unlike the US). In British Columbia, for example, you need to provide 
two proofs of identification, Primary and Secondary. 
Primary can be: 
Birth certificate
Canadian citizenship card
Canadian record of landing (a document issued to migrants to Canada)
Canadian student visas
Canadian work visa
Returning resident permit
Secondary can be: passport
Driver's license, issued by Canadian or American jurisdiction
Provincial ID card
Naturalization certificate
Canadian forces, Police, Consular or Foreign Affairs Canada ID card
Marriage certificate or change of name certificate issued by Vital 
Statistics

  If you don't drive or don't want to take the driving test, you can still
get a Provincial ID card from the Motor Vehicles Office to act as your photo 
ID. The procedure and information required is similar to applying for a 
driver's license, but without the driving part.

E. Citizenship Card 
    The card is automatically issued to naturalized Canadians when they 
are granted citizenship. Canadian citizens only get a card if they apply for 
it. It is intended as identification or proof of citizenship if the holder
is applying for a job or passport. 

    The card has not been modernized since 1989 and there is concern in 
Canadian authorities that the card is being faked because it lacks modern 
technology (e.g. holograms, etc). 

LINKS (CANADA)
www.canada.gc.ca/othergov/prov_e.html            list of provincial govt sites
www.cic.gc.ca                               Citizenship and Immigration Canada
www.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca              Human Resources Canada (info on Soc Ins No.s)
www3.gov.ab.ca/gs/services/mv     Alberta Motor Vehicles (driver license info)
www.icbc.com/Licensing/index.html              British Columbia Motor Vehicles
www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/dandv/driver/index.html       Ontario Motor Vehicles
www3.gov.ab.ca/services/vpe                           Alberta Vital Statistics
www.hlth.gov.bc.ca/vs                        British Columbia Vital Statistics
www.ccr.gov.on.ca/mcbs/english/welcome.htm            Ontario Vital Statistics

For provincial govt motor vehicle and vital statistic sites I have only 
shown links to three of the largest - other provinces either have no sites, 
or have only very basic sites with little information. 


                                                                          2003