DMV Goes High Tech To Crack Down On License Fraud

The Department of Motor Vehicles is going high tech to crack down on license fraud. New York and New Jersey are the first states using facial recognition software to bust illegal drivers at the DMV.

CBS 2’s Jessica Schneider says it’s key technological tool used by law enforcement.

The government is using facial recognition software to track people and lock up criminals.

Just this year, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol launched facial recognition to catch impostors using passports that aren’t theirs. And it’s been used by the Department of Motor Vehicles throughout New York State since 2010.

But now, New York’s DMV has partnered up with New Jersey to cross-check people who have driver’s licenses in both states — a practice which is illegal.
And many people who have these multiple licenses are double dipping because their license in one state is suspended — so they cross state lines, to get another one.

Three men were just busted for having a NY and NJ license — they had different names on each license and in all three cases, the men obtained commercial driver’s licenses in one state, while their other license was suspended.

They were finally found out when the DMV checked their photos across NY and NJ facial recognition databases — and saw their pictures on both licenses were the same.

Security expert Manny Gomez uses the same technology in his work as a security consultant. His investigators use it to track people and soon, he says police will use it to ID suspects in surveillance videos.

As he says, no matter how hard you might try — faces don’t lie.

“Facial recognition there’s no way around it,” Gomez said. “Through plastic surgery you try to change your face, it will still try to pick up those 80 or so nodals that will detect who you are. Once it’s stored in a database everyone will know who that is.”

NY State’s DMV has already used facial recognition software to help authorities make 3,500 arrests. Now that NY is partnering with NJ, officials say dozens of more arrests are pending.

New York and New Jersey are the first two states in the country to share motor vehicle photos to combat identity theft and fraud.

Read more at CBS LOCAL.

{Matzav.com Newscenter}