Chinese Fake ID Website Taken Down

WASHINGTON, Aug. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On August 6, 2012, Senators Charles Grassley (R-IA), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Mark Kirk (R-IL), and Dick Durbin (D-IL) sent a letter to Zhang Yesui, Ambassador of the People's Republic of China in the United States, regarding recent reports detailing how individuals can obtain high quality counterfeit driver's licenses from websites operated by companies based in China. The letter specifically named the website, ID Chief. Today, operators of the ID Chief website announced that its business is closing and posted the following message:

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100720/DC36328LOGO)

"Dear customers

We are stopping the website and novelty id service.

Thank you for your support, we want you to know we provided the very special service, that no other website can do. We just want let you know that if you find different website that looks like ours and has the same products that we sold they will steal your money, or your information, to use it for the bad things. You can know that we have deleted everyone data and there are not any records.

We also want you to be smart and only use your novelty id for buying beer in movies, We do not like criminals and do not think we are bad people, we just try to help the poor student have some fun. Again thank you for your support and understanding."

Brian Zimmer, President of the Coalition for a Secure Driver's License released the following statement:

"The Senators took the right step in addressing directly the Chinese ambassador and seeking his help. It is clear that action soon followed in China leading to an abrupt end to the menace of hundreds of thousands of counterfeit IDs flooding this country."

About the Coalition for a Secure Driver's License:

The Coalition for a Secure Driver's License is a 501 (c) (3) non-partisan, not for profit, crime prevention education public charity, supported by donor contributions from across the United States. 

The CSDL slogan, "Working to protect the identity of every American", embodies our commitment to higher standards for both government and private entities that issue identity credentials, especially state agencies that issue driver's licenses and ID cards. CSDL undertakes research projects addressing best practices for DMVs, compliance with federal laws and regulations, identity fraud prevention and related identity management topics. CSDL provides research results and educational programs to the public and to state and federal officials and is a member of the Document Security Alliance and the American National Standards Institute.

Details are available on CSDL's website at www.secure-license.org.

SOURCE Coalition for a Secure Driver's License