Advanced Criminal Investigations and Intelligence Operations
Page 8
Makeup is used for cosmetic, theatrical, and disguises purposes. The third type (disguise makeup) is what should be used. Makeup includes mascara
(eyelash darkener), eyebrow pencil, foundation (skin-colored makeup base), blemish cover, blush (rouge), eye shadow, etc. Wigs, fake facial hair, and hair color are also elements of a disguise. Scars, marks, tattoos, bruises, etc., can also be simulated using makeup.
Long-Term Disguise
Longer term disguises are more involved than shorter term or one-time
cover disguises. Long-term disguises require sustaining a personality or persona rather than merely concealing a true identity. This is often the case when working in an UC mode, particularly when in deep cover. Such cover disguises require skills in disguise, acting, observation, practice, and calm nerves. Part of an identity change requires a lifestyle change. Changes in habits, patterns, and customs are necessary. This requires not only a change in appearance but also a change in mannerisms, expressions, speech, and a credible cover story.
Some disguise experts and experienced and expert UC operatives opine
that many amateurs or inexperienced operators try too hard to be convincing about the reality of their disguise character. Because of their insecurity in their adopted disguise and giving too much credit to their audiences’ discernment, they often give too much information to support their cover story.
Permanent Disguises
When one chooses to change their identity permanently, they often adopt
a permanent disguise or change in appearance, which usually includes new identification documents to support their new identities. Creating a new identity for an official cover may be as simple as the issuing agency creating the UC identity through official channels. There are occasions when it is preferable to have no official trail of the UC identity, for instance, when an investigator is investigating the agency or employee of an agency that issues identity
42
Advanced Criminal Investigations and Intelligence Operations
documents or covers or where there must be no way to reveal the intelli-
gence officer’s UC identity. There may also be occasions where an operative cannot receive official sanctions or support, such as when a POW is escaping from captivity or an intelligence officer is in sudden and unexpected need of egress, extraction, or exfiltration. Where there is no official cover (NOC), forgery may be the only way to create cover identity documents. This is risky and illegal in most countries (perhaps not only forgery, but espionage).
Identity Theft: Protection and Exploitation
To steal your identity, an identity thief must know something about you.
With little more than your name, date of birth, address, and your SSN (the key), a criminal can assume your identity. An identity thief may assume your identity on a long-term or a short-term basis when you are not using credit, maintaining a bank account, or making investments.
A short-term identity thief will take over a portion of your identity, run up bills in your name, and then disappear. The thief may take your wallet and use your credit cards until they are denied because you have reported them stolen or the cards are maxed out. The thief then abandons them. The thief may cash checks from your checking account. Many businesses will cash
checks with little or no ID or without looking at the ID.
A long-term identity thief may assume your identity for months or years.
He or she is using your identity to hide his own and will take actions in your name to obtain credit cards, open accounts, and/or make major purchases
(such as automobiles), and then default on these debts.
While the short-term identity thief takes over your established accounts, a long-term identity thief establishes new accounts in your name.
Birth Certificates
Birth certificates are usually considered the first document creating identification; this is because birth is the first step in the creation of an identity and because nearly all other identification documents are procured using a birth certificate. The registry or bureau of vital statistics in each state is a clearinghouse for birth, marriage, and death records. County clerks offices are another option. There are more than 7000 different forms of birth certificates in the United States. A certified copy of a birth certificate is often what is required to obtain a social security card and driver’s license. Sample uncertified birth certificates can be obtained from state bureau of vital statistics or county offices and state stamps, available from stationary stores, can be used to authenticate documents.
HUMINT Surveillance and Undercover Operations
43
Social Security Numbers and Cards
A social security card with an assigned social security number (SSN) is
usual y the second most important document; this is usual y required to gain employment, pay taxes, obtain a driver’s license, and for many other purposes.
It has become a de facto national identification number. The Social Security Administration (SSA) uses the SSN to track quarterly earnings. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) uses the SSN for taxpayer identification (more on this as you read).
In Canada, the equivalent to the SSN is the SIN—the Canadian Social
Insurance Number (SIN), issued by Human Resources Development Canada
(HRDC). Do not disclose your SSN to anyone unless it is absolutely neces-
sary. Even revealing a portion of your number may be the key an identity thief needs to obtain your number and identity. Your last four digits Disclosing the last four digits only of your SSN does nothing to protect you and may be exactly what an ID thief needs to steal your identity. You will see how to piece together a number as you read.
There are three methods of obtaining an SSN: (1) apply for a valid card and number under a new identity, (2) procure someone else’s identity and obtain a valid copy of their SSN, and (3) create an SSN and forge a card. If you are investigating an identity theft, you should be familiar with these techniques. If you are an intel igence officer creating a cover identity, you should still be familiar with the laws covering such documents, including, but not limited to the fol owing: 42 U.S.C. 301 and 208(g) The Social Security Act of 1981
18 U.S.C. 1028 The False Identification Crime Control Act of 1982
If one chooses option #1 (apply for a valid card and number under a new
identity), it will be necessary to have a legal name change (discussed further along). If option #2 (procure someone else’s identity and obtain a valid copy of their SSN), there are a few facts that need to be known.
An option to creating an SSN is to actually apply for a valid SSN under your new identity. This may have fewer risks and hassles and actually
provide social security benefits. Most identity changers (unless in a government relocation program) are too old to apply for a new SSN without being conspicuous.
Children less than 5 years of age are usually issued mail order SSNs with few questions. A birth certificate and one piece of collaborating documentation are required (a doctor’s or hospital bill, a baptismal certificate, a government bond, etc.). (Again, there are more than 7000 different forms of birth certificates in the United States.) Anyone over 45 who applies for a social security number and card will attract scrutiny.
If the person applying for the SSN is under the age of 18 years, application may be made by mail. The SSA requires (1) a birth certificate and (2) some identification
44
Advanced Criminal Investigations and Intelligence Operations
(driver’s license, passport, medical record, government employee ID card, school record, report card, or ID). A birth certificate used to obtain a new identity SSN
would have to be from someone who died young, did not have an SSN, and would be only 16 or 17 years old. (Note: This information often changes.)
Even a valid SSN may not pass scrutiny because most data banks are tied together, for example, BMV, IRS, NCIC, and SSA. The IRS and the SSA
If someone chooses option #3 (create an SSN and forge a card), there are
a few facts that must be understood about this modus operandi (method of
operation).
Take care in choosing a new SSN. Credit reporting agencies use the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) to cross-reference SSNs of deceased individuals with existing credit profiles. If the SSN belongs to a deceased person, it may be flagged for fraud. Banks also receive bulletins from the SSA that indicate the most recent SSNs. The IRS also issues watch lists of fraudulent SSNs to banks and other entities to search accounts and safe deposit boxes.
SSNs are for social security benefits, though the IRS and many other gov-
ernment agencies also use it as a national identification number. An employer identification number (EIN) may be used by an entity and a taxpayer identification number (TIN) may be sued for tax purposes in lieu of an SSN, but no benefits are accrued.
The SSN is made up of nine numbers (000-00-0000): area—block—
serial. The first three numbers (area) of the SSN indicates the area of the country where the card was issued (except the 700 series, which was reserved for railroad retirement use). This is the area segment.
The middle two digits (block) is the group or block segment and gives an idea of when an SSN was issued. Odd groupings (01–09) were used first (probably before 1940). Even groupings 10–98 were used next, then even groupings 02–08, then odd groupings 11–99. It is important to know in which year a particular block of numbers was issued in the target area.
The last four digits (serial) are used to serialize 0001–9999 numbers
within each group and is the serial number or the segment.
You may also get a new ID using a police report as proof of your stolen
ID, with a certified copy of a birth certificate. Applicants for an SSN who are over the age of 18 must appear in person for an interview and usually must provide SSNs for both parents, unless they are aliens or foreign visitors. The SSA may issue a new SSN if one can show that they have been the victim of identity theft. This must be under the old name, not the new one. A juvenile application can be made by mail with one parent’s SSN.
Illegal immigrants in the work force (or anyone) can get an Individual
Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), which is a nine digit number like the SSN. This allows a worker to file tax returns but not to receive social
HUMINT Surveillance and Undercover Operations
45
security benefits. Many banks will accept an ITIN in lieu of an SSN to open accounts. A W-7 Application for IRS ITIN may be used for this.
Insurance companies offer plastic social security cards with their infor-
mation packages, as well as bulk junk mail at your mail drop.
Driver’s Licenses
Most states issue a paper or temporary driver’s license until the regular one arrives by mail. Some of these temporary IDs have no expiration date or photograph. A Canadian driver’s license, or one from virtually any country, may be a viable alternative. You may be required to have an International Driver’s Permits or International Motorist Qualifications (IMQ) (issued by the AAA) with a foreign license.
A homemade International Driver’s License ( Permit) may not be recognized by anyone who has never seen one. They do not include an SSN and
verification is virtually impossible on short notice. Using an international driver’s permit and other ID documents may make it possible to get a driver’s license in a state that does not require an SSN to get a license. The American Automobile Association issues standard international driving permits. One may purchase a legitimate permit using a valid state license as a validating document. (The permits were issued on Wasau Royal Fiber Cover Sheet
Recycled Pewter with red AAA seals.)
The National Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986 stopped those getting multiple driver’s licenses by mandating that all states issue and enforce a national commercial motor vehicle license called a commercial driver’s license (CDL). These state licenses are all linked in one info sharing computer system. It may be possible to obtain multiple legal driver’s licenses using a valid SSN attached to an alias, using a pretext for why you are getting a license at this time (age), for example, you have been in Canada for the last 8 years. It is even better if you are asked for a birth certificate, rather than an SSN.
Vehicles must also be licensed, that is, have a license plate or tags, and a registration. Most states also require that proof of insurance coverage be carried in the vehicle while operated. Register vehicles to your company name and mail drop address.
Military ID and Ancillary Documents
Military identification includes an Armed Forces Identification Card. An honorable discharge may be some evidence of military service, but a DD214
( Report of Separation) is the form that is the standard for verification of military service. Military personnel records can be used for proving military
46
Advanced Criminal Investigations and Intelligence Operations
service, or as a valuable tool in genealogical research. A DD Form 214/215 is prepared in eight copies and distributed as follows:
• Copy 1—Service Member
• Copy 2—Service Personnel File
• Copy 3—U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
• Copy 4—Member (if initialed in Block 30)
• Copy 5—U.S. Department of Labor
• Copy 6—State Director of Veteran Affairs
• Copy 7 and 8—Distributed in accordance with Military Service
Department directions
Most veterans and their next of kin can obtain free copies of their and other military and medical records by completing a Standard Form 180 and submitting it to
National Personnel Records Center
Military Personnel Records
1 Archives Drive
St. Louis, MO 63138 (314) 801-0800
School IDs (student and faculty) are easily manufactured and difficult to detect. Most have photos and an SSN or other ID number. Student IDs are
useful when used with a birth certificate to acquire an SSN. Fake numbers used on fabricated documents may arouse suspicion.
Baptismal certificate—The SSA has accepted a church membership or
confirmation record (if not used as evidence of age).
Library cards—Known as ancil ary documentation, such documents
can be helpful, so it may be worthwhile to obtain several library cards under several names so your checkouts are not tracked by a database.
Checkout counter cards are used for discounts and for credit coupons.
These cards make records of your buying habits and how much you are
willing to spend for certain items. Data Resel ers use databases track last known addresses, mail forwarding addresses, magazine subscriptions, motor vehicle information, buying habits, income, marital status and number of
children, court filings and judgments, etc. Magazine subscriptions and junk mail can be useful for establishing a history at a certain location.
Other Ancil ary ID cards:
• ID from video rental stores or preferred customer cards become secondary ID
• U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Card
• Native American tribal document
• Basque identification card (e.g., Mina Brookie and 1/8 Miami Indian
from north central Indiana)
HUMINT Surveillance and Undercover Operations
47
• Voter registration card
• Work ID cards—name, DOB, hire date, issue date, height, weight,
description, ID#, signature, expiration, and photo
There are several web pages that claim to offer fake or novelty IDs (driver’s licenses and other ID). A couple
of these include:
• www.phonyid.com
• www.novelty-ids.com
• www.qualityids.com
Fingerprints
Once you have your new identity, do not (ever) be fingerprinted as this will link back to your old identity.
New Passports
Passports are very difficult to obtain (even your own with proper identification). If you are an intelligence officer, your host agency will no doubt expedite obtaining not only your passport but also UC or camouflage passports.
Passports from other countries may be legitimately obtained in some
circumstances. Guatemala, Costa Rica, Honduras, Venezuela, Paraguay,
Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, etc., may be the easier countries to obtain them from. Some identity changers also suggest contacting
PT Shamrock Ltd.
EBC House
Townsend Lane
London NW9 8LL
Great Britain
ptshamrock@ptshamrock.com
Camouflage passports. A camouflage passport is a counterfeit document designed to be carried by Americans (or others) who could be in danger in certain areas because of their nationality. Obtaining dual Irish citizenship has been another option. Changers sometimes suggest contacting the FINOR
Organization: http://www.finor.com, www.theidshop.com, or
The Freebooter
Quester Press Ltd.
P.O. Box 489
6-8 High Street
St. Peter Port
Bishops Watham
Guernsey GY1 6BS, Channel Islands
Hampshire SO32 IAB United Kingdom
www.freebooter.com
48
Advanced Criminal Investigations and Intelligence Operations
Document Security Devices
Access control security systems use a variety of high-technology solutions for determining identity: fingerprints, retinal scans, voice prints, heart beat patterns, and brain activity patterns. Identification documents themselves may contain a variety and combination of security features, such as
• One-piece ID (photo not laminated on).
• State registration system— not on file.
• Lamination—USI, Inc., 33 Business Park Drive, Suite 5, Branford,
CT 06405-2944.
• State seal and signature overlap.