By Russell Skelton
 
 

Identity fraud is estimated to cost Australia billions of dollars every year. Courtesy of Fairfax

In October 2009, police raided a house in Melbourne's north, seizing cocaine, cannabis and a plastic bag containing $89,950 in cash. From the bag they lifted fingerprints that did not match those of the suspects apprehended and later charged. The fingerprints of the unknown suspect, thought to belong to a major drug dealer, were filed away in the hope that a match might eventually be made.

A year on, a man travelling on a Greek passport approached the Werribee office of Vic Roads seeking to convert his New South Wales driver's licence to a Victorian one. Alarm bells rang and police were called. The man was detained, questioned and arrested by Altona police.

Why? Because a trial of facial recognition technology — in which biometric details of a person's face are digitally stored for instant reference — had identified him as having six driver's licences with different identities and numerous false addresses. A police interpreter identified the man as Albanian, even though he was travelling on a Greek passport.

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Source: The Age