The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "fake ID" ...
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Identity Evil
"Identity Evil" is an in-depth look at a violent fake document cartel operating in states across the country. The cartel is the largest and most sophisticated fake id ring federal investigators have ever encountered. They were funneling millions of dollars from U.S. cities south of the border into Mexico. The cartel became synonymous with murder and torture as they sought to protect their turf from rival gangs and enforce discipline within their own organization. Using eyewitness accounts, federal wiretaps, and interviews with victim’s families, investigative reporter A.J. Lagoe and photojournalist Ben Arnold take viewers inside the cartel and document the violence that would prove to be their undoing.
Tags: Fake ID; federal wiretaps; violence; fake document cartel
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Gap at the Gate
Three part investigation into security at airport gates. The authors found that id checks were less than adequate. They traveled domestically with fake ids and sometimes no id at all. The investigation found several shortcomings in the security process raising questions over the ability of the Transportation Security Administration to really know who was flying.
Tags: Airport; security; identification; Transportation Security Administration; domestic travel; No-Fly list
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Access to Alcohol
A Rocky Mountain News analysis found that the college towns of Boulder and Fort Collins have among the highest concentrations of liquor licenses in Colorado, with many or most clustered around the state's two flagship universities. The result is easy access to alcohol for University of Colorado and Colorado State University students. Both universities are dealing with tragedy in the wake of student deaths, both alcohol-related.
Tags: liquor licenses; University of Colorado; Colorado State University; Boulder; Fort Collins; liquor stores; fake ID
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Child immigrants worked on line at chicken plant
The Herald-Leader reports on the use of child labor in processing plants in Kentucky and nationwide. The story reveals that as young as 12-year-old children have been hired by Cagle's Keystone Foods. The same practices are common also at Tyson plants in Arkansas and Missouri. The children, who in most cases had entered the country illegally, showed fake IDs and looked older, the plant managers explained. The article reports that, according to the U.S. Labor Department, many chicken processing plants are aware of the fake identities of their immigrant workers. Most plants have policies of recruiting illegal immigrants in the Southwestern border area and even in Mexico.
Tags: illegal immigration; labor; Hispanic; Clinton County; Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS)
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"Driving by Deception"
Reporters for The Record "exposed a shadowy underworld of fraudulently obtained driver's licenses and birth certificates. It has shown that the driver's license, often described as the de facto nation ID card, is easily obtained in New Jersey for a price, commonly $1,500 to $2,300. These were real licenses, issued at state Division of Motor Vehicles offices, not fake paper." -excerpt from IRE contest entry form.
Tags: Immigration; drivers licenses; birth certificates; illegal aliens
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Who's checking?
NBC News Dateline follows up a 1995 banking fraud story, and despite promises of banking reforms, "We returned to the same banks we had visited five years earlier. At five out of six banks we had no trouble opening fake accounts using fake ID. We also signed checks with names like Bugs Bunny and Porky Pig... They all went through." Dateline added "a comprehensive look at the safety of on-line banking... banks told us no major theft had occurred... Dateline found hundreds of cases where it's believed Trojan horse programs have pilfered records, stolen data and erased hard drives - we showed how easy it is to steal person accounts from someone's bank...."
Tags: TAPE TRANSCRIPT CAR counterfeit checks Secret Service hackers Internet World Wide Web online banking
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Cover your assets
KMSP-TV takes "an undercover look at why the Twin Cities have become inviting targets for organized crime. This investigation examines the explosive growth of "check fraud" in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Banks are losing tens of millions of dollars annually because crooks can easily pass bogus checks. In the end, bank customers end up paying higher fees... With hidden cameras we showed how the banks themselves are contributing to the problem."
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No title (id: 10028)
WTVD-TV (Durham, N.C.) reveals how easy it is for teenagers to get fake identification for purchasing alcohol, starting with the story of a teenager who caused a fatal accident and ending with a small shop in Durham where one man made fake IDs for for thousands of teenagers from a several state area, Nov. 22 - 24, 1993.
Tags: NC Leavitt 10 pages