Anyone know more about this BT "uk identity verification" scheme?

[Jeremy Barker]

Ian Miller wrote:

> At 9:45 +0000 6/3/03, Ken Brown wrote:
> >The utility bill establishes a reputation. And
> >that's all the bank care about really.
> >
> No.  A utility bill meets the new anti-money-laundering regulations and
> they will go through the motions required by those regulations to avoid
> prosecution.
>
> I have had to go through this rigmarole three times already this year.
> They require a "Proof of Address" and a "Proof of Identity".
>
> The "Proof of Identity" may be:-
>  - Building Society, Bank Credit, Store Card or Mortgage Statement
>  - A letter from a Public Bodies (the examples suggest they mean government
> body)
>  - Personal Reference from Doctor, Dentist or School
>
> The "Proof of Address" may be:-
>  - Any of the document valid as "Proof of Identity" but you cannot
>    use one document as both.
>  - A utility bill
>  - Inland Revenue Notice of Code or Tax demand
>
> So all you need do to set up a fraudulent identity for money laundering
> purposes is rent a room in a house and send letters to two different
> government offices which you can reasonably expect a reply.  (e.g. A formal
> objection to a planning application and requesting information on
> registering for VAT.)  With the two replies you can "prove" the existence
> and address of the fake identity.
>
> In practice, it is an onerous bit of bureaucracy that will scarcely slow
> down the bad guys at all.  I would be interested to know just how much this
> is actually costing us.  This must be very significantly increasing the
> cost to banks of opening accounts, which they presumably will be passing on
> to customers in increased charges.  It must have wasted at least half a day
> of my time.
>
> Ian
>
> --
> Singularis Ltd, 32 Stockwell St, Cambridge, CB1 3ND
> Tel:  +44 1223 525088               Mobile: +44 777 5536663
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The Money Laundering Regulations date from 1993.  They only demand proof of
identity, NOT proof of address.  The more recent Money Laundering Regulations
simply extend the scope of the existing regulations to cover the bureaux de
change and the like.

jb