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Theodore
W. Wern
April 16, 2001
Senator
Richard J. Durbin
United States Senator, Illinois
332 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Re: A License to Break the Law? Protecting the Integrity of
Driver's Licenses
Dear
Senator:
I respectfully submit the following
written testimony in connection with the following
hearing held by the Senate Subcommittee on Oversight of
Government Management, Restructuring and the District of
Columbia: A License to Break the Law? Protecting the Integrity of Driver's Licenses.
I was a victim of identity theft for approximately four
years. The
perpetrator used my personal information to establish
approximately $48,000 in fraudulent credit and for various
other financial crimes. He
also used that information in the course of his own traffic
violations. On
four separate occasions, he was stopped by traffic police --
once for driving under the influence of alcohol -- and was
able to incur the violations under my identity.
On another occasion, the perpetrator assumed my
identity during a judicial proceeding resulting from one of
his traffic violations. He
was able to plead guilty and walk away from the courthouse
while never having to reveal his own name.
All along, his violations resulted in numerous arrest
warrants issued under my driving record.
My perpetrator is now serving a 6 month sentence in a
state prison in Mansfield, Ohio.
I will not dwell on the anger and frustration that
resulted from my experience. Certainly, such emotions pale in comparison to those that
resulted from the events of September 11.
As we all know, those events were set in motion by many
individuals who were able to assume fraudulent identities.
What I offer today is a basic awareness of the
inadequacies of current administrative and law enforcement
efforts to prevent identity theft.
The first remedial effort should be focused at the
state agency level. As
contemplated in the proposed draft of the Driver’s License
Integrity Act of 2002 (“DLIA”), all
states should be forced to adopt more aggressive standards
for the issuance of driver’s licenses.
The second remedial effort should be aimed at law
enforcement. What
good is a validly issued driver’s license if an identity
thief can use the
information contained in that driver’s license to commit
crimes with impunity? In my case, three different city police officers (two of
which were from different jurisdictions) and one state highway
patrol officer failed to take any practical steps to ensure
that the violator was who he said he was.
Those officers only accepted the perpetrator’s word
that he was “me.” No
effort was made to confirm that identity, even
though the perpetrator failed to show any identification
and even though the
perpetrator’s physical appearance bears no resemblance to
mine. Therefore,
as contemplated in the DLIA, the effort should not end with
uniform driver’s license standards; rather, it should also
extend to law enforcement officers and any other persons or
entities who are charged with determining the validity of a
person’s identity.
Thank you for the opportunity to address this panel.
I would be honored to provide any further service to
the cause that brings us together today.
Sincerely
Theodore
W. Wern
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