'Fake' IDs: police report increase in travelling on forged identities

'Fake' IDs: police report increase in travelling on forged identities
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In airports and Bruxelles-Midi station alike, police have intercepted more people in possession of forged identity documents last year than in previous. They estimated the security surrounding identity papers and procedures could be improved, De Tijd reported on Tuesday.

Most of the forged papers were detected in airports. Airport police seized 1,637 documents last year, more than in 2017 (1,356) and 2016 (1,435). 768 of the seizures involved forged papers.

At Bruxelles-Midi station, the railway police also intercepted more international travellers with fraudulent identity papers in the past year, stopping 152 persons as against 125 in 2017.

In the rest of the country, 1,138 forged documents were also discovered, 493 of which were false passports and 645 fake identity cards.

Over the years, these documents have however become increasingly better protected. Fingerprints should also add to the information recorded on the electronic chip in identity cards at the end of this year.

"But we can still strengthen the physical and electronic security of identity and travel documents," Sandra Eyschen, the spokeswoman of the federal police considered. "Procedures for the issuing of these documents can also be beefed up and improved. The same thing also applies to our understanding of fraud and the exchange of information between the police and their external partners."

The Brussels Times


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