SYRACUSE -- As Enhanced Driver Licenses become more popular, should people be concerned about identity theft?
The New York Department of Motor Vehicles has issued more than 300,000 EDLs in the past two years, 11,000 in the Syracuse region alone. The licenses contain a chip that allows authorities at border crossings to scan the licenses to obtain personal information from as much as 30 feet away.
When asked if the enhanced drivers license exposes people to potential identity theft, DMV spokesperson Jackie McGinnis replied there "haven't been any problems with that whatsoever." McGinnis told CNY Central that the chip yields a "series of numbers which mean absolutely nothing to anybody except to the people who have the equipment at the border crossings.
The licenses however come with a "radio frequency protective sleeve", but McGinnis says that is designed to protect from the "slight possibility that information in the chip could be wiped out." She adds that people often decide not to put their licenses in the sleeves and do not experience any problems.
If an enhanced driver's license contains a chip which can be scanned for personal information, some civil libertarians fear this gives big brother another opportunity to be watching you.
Barrie Gewanter of the New York Civil Liberties Union told CNY Central "Technology can be a good thing but it can also be a double-edged sword."
Gewanter says radio frequency identity chips could allow authorities to track your movements and not just across a border. "I think we're getting into a society where government entities and indeed businesses may be more and more able to monitor every transaction every single coming and going."
Gewanter said she decided to get an enhanced license but she keeps it inside that protective case.
Gewanter says the NYCLU is also concerned with other ID programs.
For more information: www.nyclu.org/immigrationreform.
