Fraudulent Passports: A Recipe For International Incidents

by erin on June 22, 2010

A recent news report dated Friday, June 11th, 2010 tells of an event that occurred in the country of Dubai. An Israeli official entered this country illegally by using a forged USA passport with the intention to assassinate Mahmoud el Mabhouh. As a result of this illegal entry, his mission was successful.

The Irish government asked that Israel ‘withdraw a designated member of its staff’ from the Israeli embassy in Ireland, making it the third country to ask an Israeli diplomat to withdraw from the country. The others who also took this action were Britain and Australia. The details are as follows. The Israeli secret police, Mossad, used forged passports to gain entry into Dubai which were traced back to Israel. Forged British and Australian passport were also used which is why Britain and Australia felt the need to expel the diplomats from their country. Israel justified the assassination of Mabhouh by stating that was responsible for smuggling weapons from Iran to the Gaza Strip.

Passport forgeries along with identity theft are one of the biggest problems plaguing countries and international travelers from all over the world. As you can see, even other countries deal with these counterfeits. Counterfeits are used, just like in the Mabhouh case, to illegally enter a country. They also can be used to open a fraudulent bank account, steal someone’s identity, fly abroad, and purchase a weapon. Keeping your passports, along with your other important documents, safe is important in order to discourage this type of thing. However, only tougher government regulation and careful inspection can stop it all together.

By simply typing in “forged passport” into a search engine, you get websites offering to make fake IDs of all kinds. Videos and blogs help kids fabricate fake IDs. Even the RFID chips inside passports – installed in order to provide increased security – can be “hacked” and duplicated.

Abuse of passports and the rights they entitle puts those who use them legally in very real danger. If you suspect your passport has been stolen, contact a passport agency immediately and have them void it. This is the first step in preventing criminals from stealing your identity. Next, file a police report and be sure to cover all the details surrounding the theft, such as when you had it last or when you used it last.

Passports are supposed to be a tool to help people connect as a global community, bringing the people of the world together and allowing them to interact to promote tolerance and peace. When passports are being forged and people are dying because of it, it has pretty much the opposite effect, to say the least. Make sure you’re buying and renewing your passports with a reputable and dependable online passport service or in person at a passport agency. Imitators exist that will try to sell you counterfeit passports, meaning you could unknowingly become a victim of passport fraud. Also, keep your passports in a safe location, both at home and when traveling. These are just a few things you can do in order to help reduce the occurrence of episodes like the one in Dubai.

For more information about getting a legitimate United States passport, visit USPassportNow.com.

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