Smart Cards: Where Identity Theft Prevention Meets Immigration Reform and Fraud Prevention

The executive director of the Smart Card Alliance, Randy Vanderhoof, makes an important point in his April letter when he connects two seemingly unrelated issues, immigration reform and preventing payment fraud, by showing that a single tool, namely, a smart card, may advance policy objectives in both areas.

I would add a third issue, identity theft, to the mix. Vanderhoof notes that proposed federal immigration reform mandating the use of biometric social security cards to authenticate legal employment status has much in common with EMV cards (cards that use chip technology for authentication). Both methods seek to “devalue” the information contained in the cards – in the first case, to illegal workers, and in the second, to those seeking to use information to commit fraud.

Will smart card technology protect consumers from identity theft? Privacy advocates often call foul when the use of biometrics comes up, expressing concern that the technology represents an invasion of fundamental freedoms. But that’s not the only consumer interest in the discussion. As an advocate for identity theft prevention, for protecting consumers from the emotional and financial toll of identity theft, I want to hear the pros and cons of a biometric Social Security card from the standpoint of preventing identity theft. The devastating effects of identity theft to individuals – not to mention national security – must be part of any identity authentication discussion.

- Anne Wallace, President, ITAC, the Identity Theft Assistance Center