New Mexico Agencies Receive Driver's License Fraud Prevention Awards from the Coalition for a Secure Driver's License

WASHINGTON, May 23, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Brian Zimmer, President of the Coalition for a Secure Driver's License (CSDL), presented two New Mexico government agencies with awards recognizing their work in detecting and preventing fraud on Thursday. The Taxation and Revenue Department's Tax Fraud Investigations Division received CSDL's award for "National Security Excellence," honoring its distinctive accomplishments in fraud investigations and fraud prevention. The award marks the agency's successful investigations leading to prosecutions for driver's license fraud over the past three years. These efforts have led to a measurable reduction in fraud attempts by driver's license applicants, resulting in homeland security benefits within the states and also to other states which accept a New Mexico driver's license under reciprocity. These crime fighting accomplishments also deter multi-national criminal organizations that recognize attempts to fraudulently obtain driver's licenses in New Mexico will likely lead to their detection and arrest.  

CSDL also awarded the New Mexico Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) for "Fraud Detection Excellence," marking its achievements in fraud detection and counter-fraud measures. The award recognizes the MVD's thorough approach to the verification of documents offered as proof of identity by driver's license applicants. These efforts protect New Mexico residents from crime, protect the government from benefits fraud, and potentially prevent foreign terrorists from obtaining identity documents in New Mexico. Methods employed by the MVD include training front-line employees and supervisors to detect fraudulent documents and consolidating its foreign nationals driver's license program to select offices.  

Brian Zimmer said, "I'm pleased to recognize the multi-year team effort by these agencies to thwart the growing problem of identity theft and driver's license fraud derived through driver's licenses processes. It improves the identity management security of all state agencies, with public safety benefits that go beyond highway safety. The diligence of the New Mexico Tax and Revenue Department employees in working collaboratively with other agencies to detect and prevent this type of crime is a model to be emulated by driver's license agencies in other states."

About the Coalition for a Secure Driver's License:
The Coalition for a Secure Driver's License is a component of Keeping IDentities Safe, a 501 (c) (3) non-partisan, not for profit, crime prevention educational public charity, supported by donor contributions from across the United States.  

The CSDL slogan, "Working to protect the identity of every American", embodies our commitment to higher standards for both government and private entities that issue identity credentials, especially state agencies that issue driver's licenses and ID cards.  CSDL undertakes research projects addressing best practices for DMVs, compliance with federal laws and regulations, identity fraud prevention and related identity management topics. CSDL provides research results and educational programs to the public and to state and federal officials.  CSDL is a member of the Document Security Alliance and of the American National Standards Institute.

SOURCE Coalition for a Secure Driver’s License