Buyer beware !

The first thing we do when we contemplate some sort of business deal with a stranger is to request they produce some form of ID.    It may be the purchase of a second hand car privately, or maybe they are proffering a personal cheque for something we have offered for sale.    It is wise to verify the identity of who we are dealing with.

The ubiquitous photo drivers license serves as a universal ID document these days.  It serves as a proof of age card to get young people into adult entertainment and venues serving alcohol, and banks, government departments and all manner of service providers require it to verify the applicants identity.

It must come as a shock to many people to discover that document forgers are openly advertising their trade on the Internet - and even more horrifying to learn that their products are so good that they are near impossible to detect alongside the genuine article.

These days, a counterfeit Australian passport will set you back a mere $ 750, and for an extra $ 200 the forgers will throw in an Australian state drivers license and ID card.    If you hope to upgrade your job prospects, University degrees on the stiff parchment of the originals can be had in the various disciplines, and for those seeking entry to RSL clubs and similar institutions, even Military Service certificates can be accurately forged.

The wonders of modern technology - which gave us the I-Pad and the Smart phone - and put a " cheap as chips" -  three in one printer beside our computer - have served the forger well.  Clever people have learned how to work this technology to perfection, and even the forging of currency gets closer and closer to " the real McCoy ".

Of course, the forger's art is illegal, but the anonymity of the Internet makes prosecution difficult because the culprit operates outside national  borders - and how do you track a bandit in cyberspace ?   In the real world, it evolves into " buyer beware ! "

It seems that the only defence available to the public is to consider every form of ID offered as suspect, and delve ever deeper before taking any sort of financial plunge.   Perhaps we will reach the stage when strangers will be questioned to the point of revealing a mutual third party - who can verify identity.

It seems to be the end of our " age of innocence ".    That photo drivers license that has served us so well for many years - has become a victim of the age of technology !