Two Passengers on Missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 Used Fake Passports
August 16, 2024 ? Natascha Trivisas

Two Passengers on Missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 Used Fake Passports

There were?3,350 reported terrorist attacks worldwide in 2023. Terrorists use fraudulent identity documents to cross borders, obtain weapons and to strike their unsuspecting targets.?

The shocking headlines appear again and again, as terrorists continue to wage their campaigns of violence across the globe. Often, their targets are chosen simply for the media coverage and fear they will generate, and they have little in common with other attacks as different terrorist cells pursue unique agendas.?

However, one recurring link connects many terrorist attacks — including some of the most well-known and horrific — and that’s the repeated use of fake passports and identity cards obtained via identity fraud; a pervasive criminal enterprise that’s commonly referred to as the “Mother of All Crimes.”?

Fake passports or identity cards were used in these terrorist events:

  • 1999 — Los Angeles international airport
  • 2001 — New York/Washington DC (“9/11”)
  • 2014 — Malaysia Airlines MH370
  • 2015 — Paris, France
  • 2016 — Brussels, Belgium

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See how HID created a more secure, more beautiful ePassport for the Kingdom of Bahrain >> ?

Identity Fraud — The Most Dangerous Weapon in a Terrorist’s Armory

As well as using fake identity documents to help reach their targets, terrorists use fraudulent passports and ID cards in a multitude of ways:

  • To cross borders to organize resources, recruit group members and scout potential targets
  • To open bank accounts to launder money and obtain donations
  • To create fake personas to disseminate false information and build a following
  • To steal information about security and law enforcement strategies and tactics
  • To extort victims and gain access to secret information
  • To rent safehouses, hire vehicles and obtain weapons
  • To hide from identification and evade law enforcement

Defeating the Mother of All Crimes Starts by Designing Stronger, Safer Identity Documents

Terrorists make great use of fake identity documents, sometimes creating them on an?industrial scale — generating thousands of altered, forged and counterfeited documents that allow them to blend in, cross borders and carry out their deadly activities. But it doesn’t have to be like that. Identity fraud is easier for the criminals and terrorists when the security features of identity documents are insufficient, out of date or incorrectly utilized.?

Criminals adapt quickly, seeking weaknesses in document security and exploiting all the gaps and loopholes they can find or create. The only way to defeat their intentions is to stay one step ahead. This means identity documents must employ the newest security features, adapt a layered security approach and embed security into the heart of every document’s design. It also means that redeploying old and obsolete technology and security features when the templates for a country’s passports and identity cards are renewed — typically every ten years — is not enough to defeat the forgers and counterfeiters. Re-using out of date security technology can give criminals and terrorists open access to an individual’s identity.

How secure are your identity documents? Read and compare >>

HID — The Award-Winning Leader in Identity Document Design and Security

HID sets the gold standard in identity document design and security. Passports, identity cards, driver’s licenses and all types of official government documentation made better, stronger and more secure through the power of award-winning design:?

  • 2024 IF Design Award winner — Kingdom of Bahrain
  • 2024 High Security Printing Award winner – best ePassport — Kingdom of Bahrain
  • 2023 London Design Award winner — Kingdom of Bahrain
  • 2021 High Security Printing Award winner, Best ePassport — Estonia
  • 2020 High Security Printing Award winner, Best ePassport — Malta
  • 2019 High Security Printing Award winner, Best ePassport — Tanzania
  • 2014 High Security Printing Award winner, Best ePassport — Ireland


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