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OT Slightly - I/D cards

The guvmint seem determined to press on with them, though at the declared timetable it is unlikely to affect me, at 74 y/o. ;-)

I am baffled as to why it will do anything to prevent identity theft unless it is compulsory for everyone, and is demanded by store checkouts in the same way that they examine signatures on CC slips. Or rather, they don't...

Suppose I get an I/D card.

Will it stop someone walking into a large store such as Kendals and Debenhams and using my name to immediately obtain goods and gift vouchers to the tune of about £750 in each case?

The answer is "I don't think so", because it happened a few years ago, and I'll just bet the greedy stores are still giving away credit to all comers.

Neither the store fraud departments, nor the underwriting bank fraud department would disclose what I/D had been produced (if any) by the fraudster to obtain the credit.

I have always destroyed all my bills, documents with any details on, etc.

The bank simply said that they probably took my name from the phone book!

Reply to
Gordon H
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I don't know either - and I don't think I've ever seen a proper explanation as to how it's supposed to work.

We're told that it will use biometric data - in which case every outfit (shop, bank, etc.) which needs to check your ID will need a device to scan your eye or take your fingerprint or whatever, and compare it with what's stored on the card - assuming that biometric data *is* actally stored on the card. If it's only stored on a central database, then every outfit will also need on-line access to that database in order to do the check. [That is presumably not the case - in other words the data *must* be on the card - since the Home Secretary stated recently that the database couldn't be hacked into because it wouldn't be on line].

So if the biometric data *is* on the card, how long will it be before some villain works out how to make forged cards, with *your* ID and somebody

*else's* biometric data?
Reply to
Roger Mills

The Home Secretary was talking rubbish, and appears to think that computing is a kind of magic pixie dust you can sprinkle everywhere to make everything all right.

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Reply to
Robin T Cox

Having the biometrics on the card makes it much easier for villains to pretend that they are someone else, using forged cards - because the biometrics will match, and there will be no cross-check against the master database.

Reply to
Roger Mills

I suspect that the answer is simpler and stupider.

I suggest that the government will say that the cards are secure because of the biometric data. Some government offices will have biometric checkers to prove this. However in practice it will be no better than a driving licence, passport is now because the shop keeper, bank sales assistant, CRB representative etc will not be able to use the biometrics to check if the card is real.

Reply to
Rob.

It won't do anything to prevent ID theft even if it is compulsory. It will just create a new method of peforming the said ID theft. IMHO they will make ID theft easier.

No system is infallable. ID Cards and the NIR will just create new opportunies for criminals and incovenience the law abiding.

Money down the drain IMHO.

M.

Reply to
Mark

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