The issue of identity theft/fraud is monumental and impacts virtually every aspect of our society. The number of identity thefts reported by banks and other financial institutions was again on the rise in 2001, after more than doubling in 2000.

From January to the end of April 2001, the U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network received 332 reports of identity theft, compared with 637 cases over the entire year 2000, and 267 cases in 1999. The most recent report by the Federal Trade Commission released September 3, 2003, disclosed that “nearly 10 million people were victims of identity theft during 2002”. 

"That amounts to a 50 percent increase from the same period a year ago," the agency noted in its semi-annual review of trends in so-called suspicious activity reports (SAR's) - - which banks must file with the government on transactions that appear to be linked to money laundering or other criminal activities.

The number of SAR's specifically related to identity theft has grown fast in recent years from just 44 cases in 1997, the first full year the reports were required.

Congressional estimates effective April 2000 stated that in excess of 2,000 American citizens per week became victims of identity theft resulting in more than $2 Billion in losses annually. The FTC report filed September 3, 2003 indicated that “ID Fraud had cost US businesses an estimated $48 billion and its victims $5 billion in 2002”, and that reflects only the reported cases. An earlier government report by the General Accounting Office (GAO), had estimated that 500,000 to 700,000 people had fallen victim to identity theft annually. Instead, ID theft hit 9.9 million victims during 2002, and more than 27 million during the preceding 5 years.

It has been clearly documented that several of the terrorist hijackers who attacked our Nation on September 11, 2001 obtained airline tickets and access to the doomed aircraft through the use of fraudulently obtained driver's licenses. This has prompted widespread reviews of standards and procedures nationwide. 

The RAPID (Restricted Area Personnel Identification) System is the best security against identity theft, and also protects assets and critical infrastructure from exposure to hostile entities by denying access to secure environments (anti-terrorism). The primary emphasis for the RAPID system is to equip the Law Enforcement Community, and businesses and corporations that contend with security issues, with a powerful tool for secure identification.