Time to prevent misuse of lost or stolen ID cards

Have you ever lost your ID card? If yes, don't be surprised if you get a call from police saying somebody has laundered money using it. Reports say an ID card cannot be deactivated so those who find or steal one can use it for various purposes, including opening false accounts to execute financial frauds, leaving the genuine holder in anxiety.

In some extreme cases, people who lost their ID cards were even arrested for the crimes committed by those who found or stole them. This has prompted many to call for the establishment of a system that would enable one to report a lost ID card to the authorities and get it deactivated. But this is technically not possible at the moment.

Unlike credit cards which only grant users access to their bank accounts, an ID card hosts information in its circuit, so credit cards have to be read through online machines linked to a bank server while ID cards are read through offline machines. This means a bank can easily deactivate lost credit cards via the server but police cannot do the same for lost ID cards.

Many have urged the authorities to take measures to ensure ID cards, like credit cards, can be read only online; but doing so would raise the risk of police database being hacked. Police always insist all servers be connected through a special network that is limited in size, because despite causing inconvenience it is rather safe in keeping information.

So who is to blame? Earlier, police said that according to the law, banks, hotels and other facilities should check whether the photograph on an ID card matches the face of the cardholder. But since ID cards are valid for 10 years without the photographs being changed, at times it is difficult to match the photograph with the cardholder. Besides, the law doesn't say what responsibilities banks or hotels will bear if they fail to do so.

This problem has to be solved through joint efforts. Since the loopholes came to light a long time ago, police have been taking measures, including adding recognizable information, like fingerprints, to ID cards. But it will take a long time for the entire population's ID cards to be updated.

Perhaps we should think differently. Every card has a special piece of information that cannot be copied, that is, its date of issue. And when a person loses his/her ID card, the new one he/she gets will get a new issue date. So police should enlarge their special network, allowing trustable banks, hotels and airlines to access it in order to enable them to read ID cards online and compare their dates of issue with the database.

In case of any discrepancy, they will realize the ID card has been either lost by or stolen from the genuine cardholder. That will prevent one's lost ID card from being misused by criminals or escaped convicts.

Moreover, legislation is needed to make clear under what conditions banks or hotels have to compensate a person for the loss of his/her ID card.

According to reports, Huang Ming, vice-minister of Public Security, has promised to establish a management system for lost and stolen ID cards within the year, and better coordinate with hotels, airlines and banks to strictly match the photographs on ID cards with the cardholders to prevent misuse.

This indeed will be a step for the authorities in the right direction. But the system should be established as soon as possible because the millions of people who have lost their ID cards cannot afford to wait long.

The author is a writer with China Daily. zhangzhouxiang@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 04/25/2015 page4)