NY DMV Busts 4k Fraudsters With Facial Recognition Tech

By Christopher Coble, Esq. on August 29, 2017 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Identity theft often involves multiple pieces of identification. That means multiple driver's licenses, all with the same face. So in 2010, the New York Department of Motor Vehicles began using facial recognition software to flag the same face applying for multiple licenses. Turns out it pays off.

The New York Post reports the DMV's facial recognition technology has led to 4,000 arrests and ID'd a total of 21,000 cases of identity theft or fraud.

Hey, You Look Familiar

The facial recognition program looks for the same faces applying for driver's licenses under different names. Yes, in rare instances, the software can uncover identical twins put up for adoption and raised in different parts of the state. But more often than not, as the Post reports, the tech is tracking identity thieves:

Among those ensnared in the new high-tech net was Randolph Robinson who tried to obtain a New York driver's license of a man he moved furniture for, authorities said.
When the state system flagged him and he realized his license wasn't mailed in a matter of days, Robinson flew to Florida, where he could get a license immediately at a DMV counter, officials said. State investigators tracked him down and busted him after they say he used the Florida identification to withdraw $50,000 from the victim's bank accounts and buy a new Honda.

Numbers Game

"The use of this facial recognition technology has allowed law enforcement to crack down on fraud, identity theft, and other offenses - taking criminals and dangerous drivers off our streets and increasing the safety of New York's roadways," Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a statement. "We will continue to do everything we can to hold fraudsters accountable and protect the safety and security of all New Yorkers."

Along with those 4,000 arrests, another 16,000 people are facing administrative action as a result of the technology. A DMV investigation discovered that half of those flagged as having multiple license records were trying to get a second license after their original one had been suspended or revoked.

"New York has a simple policy: one driver, one record," Terri Egan, DMV Executive Deputy Commissioner, added. "If your license is suspended or revoked, the days of getting a second one to try to keep driving are over."

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