Person attaching a woman’s photo to a passport

9% of Human Trafficking Victims are Transported Using Counterfeited or Fake Passports and ID Cards

With more than 50 million victims of human trafficking worldwide, counterfeited or fraudulent identity documents are helping traffickers expand their illegal trade, hide in plain sight and evade law enforcement.

The victims of human trafficking are everywhere and anywhere, often transported thousands of miles from their hometowns, villages and cities by traffickers who view them as profit centers, not people.

As with so many other crimes, identity fraud and the use of fake passports and ID cards are crucial for the continuation of human trafficking. False identities allow the traffickers to evade capture, move freely to support and oversee their networks, and in almost one in ten cases, to move victims from their point of capture to their point of sale. According to some reports, the number of identified human trafficking victims worldwide has quadrupled since 2008.

Identity Fraud — Helping Human Traffickers to Maintain and Grow Their Trade

Human traffickers use fraudulent passports and ID cards in a multitude of ways:

  • To transport victims across the world
  • To cross borders to organize resources, recruit group members and scout new markets
  • To create bank accounts to launder money and buy legal assets
  • To steal information about security and law enforcement strategies and tactics
  • To extort victims and gain access to secret information
  • To rent safehouses, hire vehicles and set up shell companies
  • To hide from identification and evade law enforcement

Defeating Identity Document Fraud Starts by Designing Stronger, Safer Identity Documents

Human traffickers make great use of fake identity documents, sometimes creating them on an industrial scale — generating thousands of altered, forged and counterfeited documents that allow them to blend in, cross borders and carry out their illegal activities. But it doesn’t have to be like that. The fact is, identity fraud becomes easier for the traffickers when the security features of identity documents are insufficient, out of date or incorrectly utilized. 

Criminals adapt quickly, seeking weaknesses in document security and exploiting all the gaps and loopholes they can find or create. The only way to defeat their intentions is to stay one step ahead. This means identity documents must employ the newest security features, adapt a layered security approach and embed security into the heart of every document’s design. It also means that redeploying old and obsolete technology and security features when the templates for a country’s passports and identity cards are renewed — typically every ten years — is not enough to defeat the forgers and counterfeiters. Reusing out of date security technology can give traffickers open access to an individual’s identity.

HID — The Award-Winning Leader in Identity Document Design and Security

HID sets the gold standard in identity document design and security. Passports, identity cards, driving licenses and all types of official government documentation made better, stronger and more secure through the power of award-winning design: 

  • 2024 Red Dot Design Award winner – ePassport, Kingdom of Bahrain
  • 2024 IF Design Award winner — ePassport, Kingdom of Bahrain
  • 2024 High Security Printing Award winner — Best ePassport, Kingdom of Bahrain
  • 2023 London Design Award winner – Best ePassport, Kingdom of Bahrain
  • 2021 High Security Printing Award winner — Best ePassport, Estonia
  • 2021 High Security Printing Award winner - Best new Identity Document, Argentina
  • 2020 High Security Printing Award winner — Best ePassport, Malta
  • 2019 High Security Printing Award winner — Best ePassport, Tanzania
  • 2016 High Security Printing Award winner — Best new ID card, Irish Passport Card
  • 2014 High Security Printing Award winner — Best ePassport, Ireland