A very controversial issue right now in the UK is the legislation before the UK Parliament to introduce compulsory ID cards. The government has proposed the cards as a kind of fix everything solution for the myriad problems that face society today, such as identify theft, organized global terrorism and so forth. However, fraud prevention experts are warning that the cards will not solve the fast rising problem of identity theft.
According to GB Group, personal information, proofs of ID such as a passport or utility bill, and even sophisticated tracking software which pinpoints the location of mobile phones and internet users, must all be used in combination with biometric-enabled ID cards.
While the Government uses the latest figure that identity theft is costing the UK £1.7bn a year to bolster its argument for the introduction of ID cards, GB believes that cards will only form part of the overall arsenal to tackle fraud.
The GB group is behind the idea of the cards, but only as part of a greater solution. They will form a valuable piece of the toolkit, but will not prevent ID fraud since the means by which criminals accomplish this is getting more and more complex.
Expect these kinds of issues to become more and more in the realm of public debate over the next few years. Its clear that the world is changing, and that crime and technology are evolving (even together) and that a solution to these problems is not going to come easily.