Web Site Shut Down for Offering Fake IDs December 13, 2000
News Summary
A judge ordered Info World of Tarzana, Calif., to temporarily shut down its web site, which enables visitors to create false identity documents that, among other things, could be used by minors to buy alcohol, Reuters reported Dec. 12.The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court stating that Info World was in business to encourage people to break the law through the sale of templates of state identification cards and birth certificates.
False identification cards are frequently used by minors to purchase alcohol and by thieves to obtain credit cards in the names of other people.
The site also contains programs allowing visitors to generate false Social Security numbers and bar codes.
"The templates and software sold on this site are there to help people break the law," said Jodie Bernstein, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. "Any business that empowers and encourages people to break the law should and will be shut down."
The temporary restraining order will remain in effect until the U.S. District Court in central California holds a preliminary injunction hearing. The FTC is asking for a permanent shutdown of the site and the recovery of an estimated $165,000 in revenue that proprietor Jeremey Martinez made through the sale of Info World documents.
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