Thursday, January 26, 2012

Washington: Facial recognition could be applied to all driver's licenses

"State has a responsibility to make sure the identification it hands out is legitimate" (MyNorthwest.com)
Brian Wurts, a Lakewood Police officer, told the State House Transportation Committee on Wednesday that this program could really make an impact on identity theft.

"It is a very easy thing to do in this state to get an ID card or Washington state driver's license with fictitious information," he said.
Yesterday we had a post about New Jersey. Washington is another state that is applying facial recognition to audit its database of drivers license photos.

See also:
One woman, two faces (KREM.com)
The case of Eliza Bighetty is an example of the software at its best. She donned a wig and walked into a DOL office to apply for a driver license in the name of her deceased step-daughter. The scheme worked and for ten years Bighetty received social security benefits and food stamps.
I highly recommend this video from the above-linked article (there's a short ad at the beginning).