Posted on 03/10/2014 4:46:55 PM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
How difficult is it to board a plane with a stolen passport?
Not as hard as you might think.
In any major international airport, it's not uncommon to have your passport checked four times or more between check-in and boarding the aircraft. But if passenger documents aren't checked against Interpol's database of Stolen and Lost Travel Documents, travelers using those documents can slip through layers of security.
Investigators don't yet know if the travelers with stolen passports had anything to do with the plane's disappearance. On any given day, many people travel using stolen or fake passports for reasons that have nothing to with terrorism, aviation security expert Richard Bloom told CNN.
They might be trying to immigrate illegally to another country, or they might be smuggling stolen goods, people, drugs or weapons or trying to import otherwise legal goods without paying taxes, said Bloom, director of terrorism, intelligence and security studies at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
"For all of those reasons, the very notion that passports might be important in this particular situation may be a red herring," Bloom said.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Drug Smugglers, illegals trying to get asylum..but the fact that you have a man named Mr. Ali in Iran, paying cash the night before a flight for two men with stolen passports raises the biggest red flag ever. This smells like a dry run, some say “Well how come no one has claimed responsibility yet” well why would they, if they have figured out the trick to get on board a plane and destroy it why would they tell. Also, the five people who booked their flights but never got on board, what do they have to do with all this
Passports have your photo in it. Don’t passport checkers compare your face with the passport photo?
Less than 2% on an international flight with fraudulent passports may not be unusual.
As I have been reading about stolen passports and the passengers who didn’t board, one amusing thought that I have had, is how unlucky for any criminal types who are connected in any way with that flight, who were merely conducting their quiet, routine criminal activities, and living under the radar.
That moment has sure passed.
Spy’s and drug dealers mainly.
Five people not showing for that flight is a small number.
In some of these countries they are more concerned about collecting an entry fee or returning stupid paper work. I know they don’t look very hard at pictures. In one country, the Guy was looking at the picture on my Brasilian VISA.
The Airlines do more checking on the credit card you used to buy the tickets than they do the passport you’re identifying yourself with.
My nephew just flew to Ireland and after getting on board realized that they had given him another person’s boarding pass from the check-in counter. He had gotten by at least 4 checks. If he had not brought it up to the cabin attendant no one would have said a word. They made him deplane, retrieve his luggage and check it in again.
If understand the story correctly, the five DID show up for the flight and checked their baggage, but didn’t get in line to board.
Likely more is known about these five than anyone is saying right now.
There are people who can change passport photos skillfully enough that a microscopic exam would be necessary to detect to fraud.
In the old days, it was possible to replace the photo. If they don't check against a database, as well as against your face, they are accepting the passport at face value. Or, they may just be checking that it's a valid number.
Don’t know if anyone mention it, but we have tens of millions right here in the U.S. with fraudulent ID of all types...And they illegally vote, work, and collect tax paid prizes and gifts from your government.
But as this report shows, fake passports are readily available and in widespread use. If the Interpol database were used regularly then spying would be difficult. So it is likely that the database is widely ignored.
Fake licenses, or real ones generated by corrupt government officials with fake names are also widespread. Street prices of under $500 indicate just how common and easy to get they are.
If Interpol now says a few percent of passengers having fake passports isn't unheard of, you can assume hundreds of people fly daily in the USA using fake IDs. So much for all that effort checking IDs.
POTUS
I believe there is one in the white hut that is using a fraudulent Social Security number.
Obama does...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.