Canada, U.K. join ID fraud fight, U.S. to follow soon

OTTAWA, Aug. 24 (UPI) -- Canada, Australia and Britain have teamed up to share biometric and fingerprint information about suspected criminals and will soon be joined by the United States and New Zealand.

The security information exchange alliance, called the Five Country Conference, builds on collaborative networks already in place within the Western coalitions fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq and united in the global war on terror.

The alliances have brought together security industries of varying sizes and scope, from organizations that work within the frontiers of each of the member countries to multinational entities that combine conventional intelligence gathering, vast information databases and new technologies.

Security sources told United Press International the Five-Country Conference had begun operations as a multifaceted global network of government agencies, with a wide remit that extends from detecting identity fraud in suspected terrorism cases to deception in attempted immigration or fraudulent asylum claims.

A key aim of the collaborative effort is to gather and share biometric data and fingerprints of foreign individuals suspected of involvement in cross-border crime, immigration rackets or just identity fraud by individuals attempting to enter any of the FCC countries.

Immigration authorities in FCC countries have been faced with cases where individuals attempted, sometimes successfully, identity fraud using false passports.

Comprehensive information-sharing information arrangements already exist within the European Union.

Canadian sources said the sharing of fingerprint information on foreign criminals and asylum seekers with Britain and Australia, and eventually with the United States and New Zealand, would make it easier to detect potential migrants who try to hide their past from authorities.

"These checks are complementary to the ones we already undertake with our European partners and trials of the data-sharing agreement have already reaped results, with individuals' identities being revealed through the exchange and checking of fingerprints," said U.K. Border Agency Deputy Chief Executive Jonathan Sedgwick.

In view of the volume of information likely to be exchanged as the deal goes through and gains momentum, authorities have also begun implementing a complex encryption system.

Sedgwick said in comments to the British media, "We already have one of the toughest borders in the world and we are determined to ensure it stays that way.

"We are continuing to expand our watch-lists, work more closely with foreign governments to share information, and speed up the re-documentation of those being removed," he said.

He hoped the information exchange would help "identify and remove individuals whose identities were previously unknown but also improve public safety through better detection of lawbreakers and those coming to the U.K. for no good."

The Canadian Department of Justice says that Canadian and U.S. law enforcement agencies have seen a growing trend in both countries towards greater use of identity theft as a means of furthering or facilitating other types of crime, from fraud to organized criminal activity to terrorism.

"Instead of one person committing an offense, there may be a complex operation involving a number of different people. No one person may be individually responsible for committing an offense, but each may contribute a small part to the larger criminal operation. New legislation on identity theft will give police and prosecutors additional tools to address such complex criminal activities," the department says.

Organized immigration and deliberate abuse of the right to asylum are among criminal activities that FCC's information-sharing program will aim to detect and stamp out, officials said.

Each country will have the same ability to check fingerprints and for the first phase of the agreement this year, each country will be able to share 3,000 sets of fingerprints with partner countries. The number will rise as the deal rolls out, officials said.

The collaboration will make it easier to detect people with previous criminal records in other countries and establish previously unknown identities.

In one case cited by the British Home Office, an individual claiming asylum in the United Kingdom as a Somali was found to have previously been fingerprinted on arrival in the United States while traveling on an Australian passport.

Australia subsequently confirmed that the man was an Australian wanted for rape. He was deported from the United Kingdom to Australia, where he faced court proceedings and is now serving a jail sentence.

Concern over identity fraud has spawned a growth in security industries serving not only the governments but also the corporate sector. Increased sales in the sector have also funded research into new devices and methods for beating identity fraud.