Fake it easy: Forgery from home

Passports, driving licences, currencies, credit cards and even visas are being forged by people through ordinary colour printers, a top police official told XPRESS. Last year, Dubai authorities investigated over 190,000 suspected forgeries of currencies, driving licences, credit cards, passports and visas. Figures from the Questionable Documents Section of Dubai Police reveal the number of separate cases of doctored documents jumped 11 per cent to almost 2,050 in 2010. Some 700 cases have been cracked so far this year, with fake passports topping the list, followed by counterfeit currency notes and knock-off brand names. Aqil Al Najjar, Chief of the Questionable Documents Section, Dubai Police, said: "Quality-wise there's a noticeable improvement... the public won't know the difference. Before colour printers, people needed access to a printing press to pull off forgeries. But now you can do all that from your home," said Al Najjar. He said his team of six specialists are under "tremendous pressure" to cope with the rising number of cases as new technology has made it easier for amateurs to forge documents. He said residents often find fraud "tempting" when new laws come out. "The trend I've seen is that new documentation laws usually tempt people to forge documents. Forgery cases usually come in ‘seasons' and it's sometimes a direct effect of a new law being enforced." The official pointed out that false high school certificates, for example, had become "very common" following a rule allowing school graduates a three-year UAE residency visa. Al Najjar said some fraud victims such as UAE visa applicants abroad have committed suicide "because they have lost everything". Many workers from poor countries often sell property and take loans to pay "job agents" who sell them fake visas instead. "But some people who buy fake visas to Europe [for instance] know they're fake. In fact, they intentionally seek it and pay around $5,000 [Dh18,000] for a fake visa to avoid other requirements like showing bank statements," he added. Al Najjar also said cases of fake currency seem to rise during shopping festivals. Recent examples of fraud include cheques signed with ink that vanishes into thin air after some time. He also mentioned a scam in which conmen demand payment for costly chemicals to treat "unfinished banknotes" in their possession. People are conned into believing the stash of blank notes become legitimate money after a solution is applied and the colour changes. "This group asks payment up front and disappears with the money. The case is widespread and most people are unaware of it," he said.