Is Identify Fraud Possible with a Drivers Licence

poormansfriedchicken on 24/08/2018 - 19:47
Last edited 24/08/2018 - 20:01 by 1 other user

Was selling a some e-tickets a few days ago on Gumtree.

Had a potential buyer contact me and after a few back and forth messages, she decided to contact me, she sounded genuine on the phone discussed that she would send payment through bank transfer and that we should send photos of each others drivers licence if issues rose afterwards. Naively, I sent over a photo of my current drivers licence and the messages stopped coming.

I'm scared as she has my drivers licence there might be some potential future issues of identity theft fraud. I have the number that she called me on and I'm super nervous now. Should I report this to the cops or is there anything I can do to prevent any potential issues?

Financial

Comments

  • Archi on 24/08/2018 - 20:06
    +3

    Ill be nice. I won't say what I'm thinking

  • kahn on 24/08/2018 - 20:20
    +5

    How do we know you're the real poormansfriedchicken and not an impostor?

  • chumlee on 24/08/2018 - 20:55
    +1

    Cops can't do anything.

    Register with Equifax so you get alerts when finance applications etc are done in your name.

    Take this as a lesson to be smarter. Unfortunately in todays world you need to treat online dealings as though people are scamming you

    • poormansfriedchicken on 24/08/2018 - 21:30

      I have the person's phone number in the case that something does happen in the future, should I refer this to the police?

      • ranmalynx on 25/08/2018 - 01:22
        +1

        Probably a prepaid mobile number which was registered using another stolen driver's licence information. This person might have already bought a new sim card and registered using your identity. Get a new driver's licence with a different number ASAP.

        • SnoozeAndLose on 25/08/2018 - 14:12

          How to get a new licence with different number?

  • JIMB0 on 24/08/2018 - 21:04
    +21

    I can't answer this question until I see a copy of your drivers licence.

  • robbyjones on 24/08/2018 - 21:23

    Get a new Drivers Licence with a different number

  • [Deactivated] on 24/08/2018 - 21:32
    +4

    Try be more careful going forward and do the following:

    1. Go to / call RMS or your states equivalent that issued the licence and report ad stolen. This is required so you get a new license number on your replacement. This needs to be done as automatic checks on online applications for credit card / phone etc will look at the current ID number.

    2. Check your mailbox is secure - if they find out which bank you’re with they can make a fake with anyone’s photo on it and use it as ID to withdraw without a card at your bank, and will know what accounts and previous transactions you have which are what the teller will ask as additional ID questions. If they apply for new credit cards chances are they need to retrieve from your mailbox

    3. Go to your bank and provide your new ID and ensure no over the counter withdrawals are to be processed with the old ID. They will alert the police if the fake is presented as ID for anything.

    4. As @chumlee mentioned above keep on top of anything being done in your name.

  • firstworldproblems on 24/08/2018 - 22:01
    +2

    I'm scared as she has my driver's licence there might be some potential future issues of identity theft fraud.

    YES

    For example, she could use your license details to set up a new prepaid mobile service. She could then use your license and that mobile number to open an Parcel Locker with Australia Post. From there, she could engage in credit card fraud to have orders delivered to the locker under your name. Or collect drugs sent from overseas.

    In future, when sending scans or photos of ID e.g. license, passport, make sure you add a watermark over them stating who you gave it to. This will protect you from some types of identity fraud. For example, they wouldn't be able to use it to create an account for various financial services online.

  • garetz on 24/08/2018 - 22:56

    All you need is a drivers license to create everything you would ever need for identity fraud, they have your name, address and date of birth. for 100 points identification the rest is easy to forge. Why would you ever give anyone a copy of your driver's license in that situation, especially as the seller, i wouldnt.

  • crentist on 25/08/2018 - 01:20

    with your drivers license they can register phone numbers in your name, even port out your current number (at least with prepaid, not sure about postpaid)

    so they could use your id for their burner/criminal mobiles and open up new dodgy stuff in your name. or get more sneaky and hijack your 2FA SMSes to break into your other accounts, maybe trick your bank into thinking they are calling you to recover a lost password or make sure that a bunch of credit card spending is okay

    probably better to burn your ID and start thinking of a new name. you could become Cliff Rockjaw, professional cat groomer

  • John Kimble on 25/08/2018 - 06:16

    The answer to your forum title is yes.

    Whilst you probably should take all the necessary precautions advised already, it seems super like a random/not guaranteed way to go about getting one driver's licence for future fraudulent activity…maybe she just changed her mind or got cheaper tickets elsewhere, but was too lazy/inconsiderate to let you know.

    Have you done some basic Google searches on her information to see if you can confirm her identity a bit or even locate her?

    • poormansfriedchicken on 25/08/2018 - 12:40
      +1

      I'm going to send her a message in the next 24 hours to clarify things. I've found out shes a director at a company and found out her place of work. I'll be on my guard next time this happens.

      • John Kimble on 25/08/2018 - 13:45

        Well, a director at a company doesn't seem to match the typical fraudster profile, but I could be wrong!

  • Strahany on 26/08/2018 - 17:56

    Off the top of my head, the key fraud areas for just a drivers license would be in mobile phones and parcel lockers.

    Just a driver's license would be needed to activate a prepaid card, which is mostly harmless since they would need to top up the funds themselves, but could ultimately harm you in the future if the number is used for illegal activity (extremely unlikely, and would be relatively easy to prove you have nothing to do with it, but a headache nonetheless). Another option is getting a post paid SIM Only plan which can only require a driver's license (depends on the company's ID policies) - this could harm your credit rating but not as much as if they had 100 points of ID, sign up for a new handset, and then having that written off against your name.

    As for the parcel lockers, a drivers license is required to register one under your own name. From what I understand, they're typically used to receive less than legal packages from online purchases. If this person is purchasing items from within Australia then you're unlikely to have any problems, but if they're ordering from overseas, then a parcel with an abundance of illegal product with your name slapped on it will be passing through scanners, sniffer dogs, customs agents, etc. That would be a ticking time bomb for a knock on the door from the boys in blue, and would be harder to prove your ignorance in the matter since purchasers use anonymity services like VPNs and Tor, so its not as simple as pointing to a mismatched IP address as proof of your innocence. Your only saving grace would be if the parcel locker is not local to you, but if it is then co-operation from Australia Post in providing the time the parcel locker was accessed that coincides with a time where you have an alibi. A friend of mine went through this and the person responsible only accessed the locker at night when they had no alibi (single, at home alone). It took a little while to resolve the issue.

    Lastly, someone could forge documents to add up to a higher ID point count and then get a handset from a carrier (as I alluded to), credit cards, other loans, etc. This opens up the potential for a large number of issues.

    Be vigilant by contacting Telcos and checking if any numbers have been taken out in your name, and they may even have a system where they could flag your ID in case someone attempts to sign up in the future. The same goes with banks, contacting Australia post (or simply making an account yourself to beat them to the punch so your ID is unusable) and monitoring your credit check history will also raise any flags.

  • SirFlibbled on 27/08/2018 - 15:17

    OP, contact IDCare. It's a free identity theft advice service.

    It would be well worth your time to contact them.

    The problem with driver licences is, with electronic verification being predominant, it can be used to verify your identity electronically without the need to look at your photo.

    The good news is, very few (if any) identity proofing processes will require a single evidence of identity document. You'd need to provide a secondary document like a medicare card (also electronically verified).

    But a good fake could be used, for example, in a bank to get service over the counter.

    And a problem is that reporting your driver licence as compromised is unhelpful as they wont replace it, and even if they did the number would remain the same.

    If you don't want to speak to IDCare, the best advice I can give you is to pay for a credit monitoring service. Just to make sure nothing pops up which isn't you.

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