Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Thieves hit DMV office for blank driver’s licenses

A Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles in North Las Vegas was burglarized late Sunday in a case authorities are describing as the largest heist of blank DMV licenses in recent history.

Shortly before midnight, the burglars drove a vehicle through a 9-foot by 11-foot window in the back of the DMV at 4110 Donovan Way and got away with 1,700 blank Nevada state driver's licenses and the equipment needed to turn them into fake driver's licenses. Bogus licenses sell on the street for anywhere between $100 and $1,000, depending on quality, police said.

The burglars could begin producing false licenses, which could be used for fraudulent transactions at check-cashing marts, banks and other businesses.

"There is no way for a bartender to tell the difference between a fake ID (made from the stolen material) and a real one, but if a police officer tries to access the information they will find out," said Kevin Malone, spokesman for the DMV.

There is no immediate danger of identity theft in the wake of the burglary because personal records are kept in computers at the state's main DMV office in Carson City, he said.

The equipment stolen, which included a computer and license printer, was also encrypted and therefore should not provide any personal information to the thieves, Malone said.

The North Las Vegas Police have no suspects in the case yet, said Tim Bedwell, spokesman for the North Las Vegas Police.

The North Las Vegas Police alerted various law enforcement agencies throughout the state of the burglary, including the Department of Homeland Security, Bedwell said.

He added, however, that the authorities do not suspect any fake Nevada state driver's licenses will be used by terrorists looking to sneak into the country, as identification checks are thorough at border crossings.

"Checks at border crossings are more stringent than at the local check-cashing mart," he said.

The primary reason individuals would burglarize a DMV is to get the materials needed to make fake identifications, which could then be used to cash checks or access other personal information, Bedwell said.

"Once someone starts cashing (fraudulent) checks, and the victim knows about it, the police will be alerted," he said.

The burglars struck the DMV at a little before midnight and had fled the scene by the time police arrived less than 20 minutes later, Malone said. The speed of the robbery and the materials stolen were signs that the burglary was well planned.

The burglars ignored the cash on the premises that was kept in a safe and stole only the blank driver's licenses and computer equipment, he said, adding that the burglars took the entire stock of blank driver's licenses from the location.

"They drove the vehicle through the window, loaded up the equipment and left," Malone said. "They didn't touch anything" except the equipment they stole.

Law enforcement agencies, courts, employers doing employment tests and insurance agencies -- essentially any establishment or department doing background checks -- would be able to detect any fake driver's licenses issued because of discrepancies between the fake ID holder and the actual records, he said.

Banks, check-cashing marts and business establishments, however, would likely accept the fake identifications, he said.

"Counterfeit IDs are a big problem across the country," he said, adding that anyone can buy the materials needed to create fake IDs online.

"It's nothing a thief couldn't do already," Malone said.

Except that in this case, the criminals will be using DMV equipment and real state documents.

Las Vegas DMVs have been the target for burglaries in the past, but mainly for the ATM cash machines inside. Burglars had stolen the ATMs at the DMV at 8250 W. Flamingo Road and the DMV at 1399 American Pacific Drive in Henderson previously, Moore said.

But Sunday night's burglary was the largest haul ever from a Nevada DMV, he said.

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