Identity Theft Made Easier By Legal Loopholes | Stuff.co.nz

ANDREA VANCE AND JOHN HARTEVELT

Severe deficiencies in the law are giving criminals "a simple means for identity theft" by making it easy to change their names, an investigation has revealed.

Former ombudsman Mel Smith uncovered the loopholes while investigating how convicted paedophile Te Rito Henry Miki was able to teach at six schools.

Mr Smith has told the Government to take urgent action to tighten the rules.

As many as 133,000 New Zealanders are the victims of identity theft every year - which the Internal Affairs Department estimates is costing the country more than $200 million.

The inquiry into the employment of Miki found he was easily able to steal the identity of a registered teacher friend, who emigrated to Australia in 2009, and to adopt his teacher registration.

Miki - who accumulated 53 separate aliases - subsequently applied to the office of the registrar-general to change his friend's name to another identity.

Name change applicants only have to supply a statutory declaration, sworn before a court official, lawyer or justice of the peace - who needs only to ask if the contents are accurate. The applicant is not required to present verification of authentication or any other supporting documents to the registrar-general.

"The consequences of the process are plain to see," the report said. The system was "surprising and of very serious concern . . . it has consequences well beyond this case".

"The present process for effecting a change of name appears to lack any means for the registrar-general to confirm that the individual who is making an application for a name change is the same person whose birth registration is to be changed to a different name."

And, despite the bogus name change, the inquiry found the real person was able to travel on his passport under his name between Australia and New Zealand seven times.

The registrar-general is not required to inform the Passport Office, Customs or Immigration of a name change. If the relevant agencies had been notified, then when the friend first returned to New Zealand in September 2009 "the theft of identity would have become known and acted on at that time", the report said.

Miki was arrested in February and was jailed for about four years.

Mr Smith said an average of 7375 people changed their name every year.

"Most of those, I'm sure, would be for perfectly proper and lawful reasons but . . . unfortunately New Zealand society is not as honest as it used to be."

There was anecdotal evidence an official name change was available to people who wanted to get past the border "having legal obligations here, whether that's child support, unpaid fines or even something much more serious", he said.

Internal Affairs said it was already acting on the recommendations.

- ? Fairfax NZ News

Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/7552036/New-IDs-cover-up-crimes-inquiry

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