The biggest ID fraud of them all? - 3 comments

The Register, characteristically (though, I fear, correctly) lays into the Government on the issue of ID cards.

The claim that ID theft costs the UK over £1.3 billion a year comes in for close scrutiny, and particular scorn:

So, of the numbers making up the "£1.3 billion" (actually £1.364 billion in the study), only that £35 million from the DWP could be said to bear some linkage to an ID card scheme, and the number itself is pretty much a guess...

They also make the point that figures that appear to show the general public backing the policy, in order to protect themselves from identity fraud, really highlight ignorance about the issues, of how people can be affected, and about what the ID cards can actually achieve, especially in an age of Internet purchasing.

I don't think anyone's suggesting that ID cards cannot work, but if it's the case that the level of success increases with the level of compulsion, it may well be that the level of success we demand can only be achieved with a level of compulsion/intrusion that we may not be at all comfortable with, or else would require enhancements (e.g. biometric readers at every ATM) that the current proposals don't allow for.

I haven't come across many people who support the policy having looked at it in any depth, but I'll keep my ear open for all contrary views - you know how to get in touch. In the meantime, I'll conclude this post by saying that I don't have the slightest faith in the Government's ability to deliver a robust and successful ID card platform, or a solution to the issue of identity fraud - at least not on the basis of what's being proposed now.