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Driver's License Scam Targets Undocumented Workers

Texas company sells worthless 'licenses' for $225

By Lisa Wade McCormick
ConsumerAffairs.com

April 10, 2008

• Texas Stops Driver's License Scam Targeting Undocumented Workers • Nebraska Warns of Driver's License Scam Targeting Undocumented Workers --- • Noticias para los Consumidores

Undocumented workers in Nebraska are the latest targets in a driver's license scheme that falsely promises immigrants they can legally drive, buy and sell cars, and even insurance with these documents.

Nebraska officials warned this week that a company called Centro de Identificaciones Inc. placed newspaper ads in Lincoln, Omaha, and Grand Rapids for these so-called international licenses, which sold for $225 each. The company also distributed flyers in Latino businesses throughout those cities.

"These people are paying for something that is worthless," said Angel Freytez, public information officer for the Mexican-American Commission. That agency serves as a voice for Hispanics in Nebraska.

"The premise behind this is you pay for these documents and you can rent an apartment, buy and sell a car, register a car, and get insurance," he said, adding the company also claims the licenses can be used as photo identification in the United States.

"None of that is true. Only the government can issue a driver's license – not private companies."

Freytez said this scheme -- also known as "International Driver's License Fraud -- has targeted undocumented workers in California, Texas, and Iowa.

"They get the money from these people and then promise to send the licenses in a month from now," he said.

ConsumerAffairs.com called Centro de Identificaciones Inc., which is based in Texas. A man who answered the phone first said the company offers "translation" services. When pressed for more information, he said: "I have no comment. This is a free country. I know my rights."

Nebraska officials said they are aware of the company and are monitoring its activities. They also said they have not received any complaint about Centro de Identificaciones Inc., and have forwarded their information to the Texas Attorney General’s Office.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), however, had cracked down on companies that sell these phony licenses -- also called International Driver's Permits (IDP) -- before.

"These so-called international driver's licenses don't give you the legal right to drive, won't help you remove points from your license, and aren't an official government ID," Howard Beales, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said a few years ago after the agency settled charges wth two companies that sold these type of phony licenses over the Internet. "We're committed to putting the brakes on companies that make these deceptive claims."

The FTC also warned consumers they can be arrested if they give police a phony IDP during a traffic stop.

Authentic IDPs, the agency said, allow a person with a valid driver's license to drive in foreign countries that have signed the 1949 United Nations Road Traffic Convention.

The IDP is a simple booklet that translates a consumer's government-issued driver's license into different languages; it is not a substitute for a valid, government-issued license, according to the FTC. These international permits also can't be used in place of a suspended or revoked license -- or as a government-issued identification card.

In the United States, legitimate IDPs cost $10 each, and can only be obtained from the American Automobile Association and the American Automobile Touring Alliance.

Consumers who paid Centro de Identificaciones Inc for a phony license can contact the Nebraska Attorney General's Office at (888) 850-7555, the Mexican-American Commission at (877) 220-1250, or the FTC at (877)382-4537.

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