Philippines Identity Theft.

[JJ27]

Me and my fiance are having some problems with getting
a passport. She went in to apply for a passport today,
and she was told that somebody else is using her name.
The passport agency told her to come back in 2 weeks
after they've investigated it or give them a call.

Has anyone else encountered this problem? She was
able to get her NBI and it was fine. My concern
is that if somebody else is using her identity,
and the NVC does a check, that maybe this other
person could have done something to mess it up.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Also, she told
me that she needs to go to the Embassy of the
country where she was working to get some sort
of certificate of attendance in order to get
a Philippines passport. I don't understand why
you would need a certificate from a foreign
country to get a passport for your home country.

If anyone has any insight on this, I'd really
appreciated it. I'm trying to figure out exactly
what needs to be done, but its not that easy.

[Ray]

... in response to Philippines Identity Theft., posted by JJ27 on Mar 11, 2004

I think identity theft as we know it is not a big problem in the Philippines.

I don’t quite understand the problem you are having. If she worked overseas, then I guarantee you that she already has a passport, so why is she applying for one? If she only needs to renew her passport, then it’s a very simple process. If she told the DFA that she never had a passport then something is wrong. If there was already a passport issued in her name, then maybe that is the problem?

I have heard of many cases where someone will use a relative’s birth certificate or an altered birth certificate in order to get a passport to work overseas while the applicant is actually under aged and not eligible for overseas employment. It happens all the time. Is it possible that one of her family members or relatives used her birth certificate to apply for a passport? Does she have an existing passport? Is it possible that your fiancée was under age when she applied for a passport to work overseas? Does her passport identification info match her NSO certified birth certificate info?

I’m not sure what she means by “certificate of attendance”. Maybe she is talking about a police clearance from the foreign country? Which country did she work in?

First, what you need to do is determine EXACTLY what the situation is. If there was any hanky-panky going on with documents or birth dates in the past, it needs to be corrected now BEFORE she submits the visa application to the embassy. Just make sure that you are getting the complete and accurate story before you decide what needs to be done to correct the situation.

Good luck,

Ray