VSAAC July Newsletter 2012
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Volume 7 Issue 7 July 2012 203-736-8566 www.vsaac.org FAKE ID’S The days when making fake driver’s licenses was a cottage industry— often practiced in college dorm rooms by a computer geek with a laminating machine — have given way to far more sophisticated and prolific practitioners who operate outside the reach of U.S. law enforcement. **If you are under 21 in Annapolis, MD and you want a fake ID, everybody knows that you have to do is email “the Chinese guy.” ** The Washington Post reports that the e-mail is passed among college and high school campuses throughout much of the northeast is actually for a single Chinese com- pany called PARTiTek in Nanjing, China. This company has mailed untold thousands of fake driver’s licenses to the United States and have turned-up in states from coast to coast. These fake ID’s are so good it is impossible to tell that they are fakes without a bar code scanner. And the only tell-tail give away is the readout that appears at the very end of the barcode– it says by PARTiTek. Many bars are now using bar-code scanners when checking patrons to help detect fake ID’s and underage drinkers. It’s pretty easy to get one of these ID’s Just e-mail your request. You are asked personal questions, sometimes even a social security number and given a cost. You send the money and within a short period of time the card arrives– hidden in some way so it will not be discovered- often in the soles of cheap shoes or jewelry boxes. (Washington Post (7/11) What’s the big deal? First of all, giving personal information can lead to identify theft especially the sharing of social security numbers. Secondly, underage drinking is illegal and dangerous. For teens to be able to access the ability to go to any bar or to any liquor store significantly increases the danger of drunkenness, binge drinking, driving while under the influence, blackouts, alcohol poisoning, coma and death. The most frightening aspect of these fake ID”s is that anyone can get one. Aside from teens, individuals who shouldn’t have access to airports, individuals who may be terrorists and anyone who needs a legal identification and shouldn’t have one can get an ID that looks official and legal. China isn’t the only culprit in the fake ID business. Participants in a large criminal counterfeit ring were arrested by Federal immigration officials in May of 2011. It was a sophisticated enterprise that covered many states and was strictly controlled and often used violence to protect its turf from rivals. However, this illegal organization preyed mainly on illegal immigrants.
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Transcript of VSAAC July Newsletter 2012
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FAKE ID’S
The days when making fake driver’s licenses was a cottage industry— often practiced in college dorm rooms by a computer geek with a laminating machine — have given way to far more sophisticated and prolific practitioners who operate outside the reach of U.S. law enforcement. **If you are under 21 in Annapolis, MD and you want a fake ID, everybody knows that you have to do is email “the Chinese guy.” **
The Washington Post reports that the e-mail is passed among college and high school campuses throughout much of the northeast is actually for a single Chinese com-pany called PARTiTek in Nanjing, China. This company has mailed untold thousands of fake driver’s licenses to the United States and have turned-up in states from coast to coast. These fake ID’s are so good it is impossible to tell that they are fakes without a bar code scanner. And the only tell-tail give away is the readout that appears at the very end of the barcode– it says by PARTiTek. Many bars are now using bar-code scanners when checking patrons to help detect fake ID’s and underage drinkers. It’s pretty easy to get one of these ID’s Just e-mail your request. You are asked personal questions, sometimes even a social security number and given a cost. You send the money and within a short period of time the card arrives– hidden in some way so it will not be discovered- often in the soles of cheap shoes or jewelry boxes. (Washington Post (7/11) What’s the big deal? First of all, giving personal information can lead to identify theft especially the sharing of social security numbers. Secondly, underage drinking is illegal and dangerous. For teens to be able to access the ability to go to any bar or to any liquor store significantly increases the danger of drunkenness, binge drinking, driving while under the influence, blackouts, alcohol poisoning, coma and death. The most frightening aspect of these fake ID”s is that anyone can get one. Aside from teens, individuals who shouldn’t have access to airports, individuals who may be terrorists and anyone who needs a legal identification and shouldn’t have one can get an ID that looks official and legal.
China isn’t the only culprit in the fake ID business. Participants in a large criminal counterfeit ring were arrested by Federal immigration officials in May of 2011. It was a sophisticated enterprise that covered many states and was strictly controlled and often used violence to protect its turf from rivals. However, this illegal organization preyed mainly on illegal immigrants.
PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE FUELING RISE IN HEROIN ADDICTION (ABC News) A True Story Chicago Police Capt J. Roberts never thought that moving to the suburbs would mean that his 14 year old son would immediately be introduced to drugs. And never did he ever imagine that Billy, a high school athlete would even think of touching heroin. After 33 years in the Police Dept. Roberts was finally ready to retire, He couldn’t wait to move his family out to the suburbs, where he thought his kids would live in a saver environment, attend better schools and be sheltered from of the ugly realities of city life. But after growing addicted to prescrip-tion painkillers, Billy and his friends could no longer afford their habit. They soon turned to heroin, which they could buy for a tenth of the price of their favorite pill– Oxycontin. Billy was 19 when he died of a heroin overdose, but he wasn’t the only one of his friends to suffer that fate. “Kids in the city know not to touch it, but the message never got out to the suburbs”, Said Roberts “We didn’t think it would ever be a problem out here.” There is a connection between prescription painkillers and heroin. The opiate high that teens seek from drugs such as Oxycodone, can also be obtained from heroin. Heroin is much cheaper, easier to by and offers users a more intense high. The danger is that teens and people in general don’t realize how risky prescription drug use is when these drugs are taken without a doctors prescription and without being under a doctor’s care. Addiction is very often the sad outcome.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, enough prescription pain killers were prescribed in 2010 to medicate every American adult around-the-clock for a month. Drugfree.org says stricter controls on pain killers (those containing hydrocodone) have failed because of lobbying by pharmacists and drug chains.
SKILL SETS EVERY CHILD NEEDS TO GUARD AGAINST ADDICTION (PsychCentral.com)
#1 Coping Skills Learning to deal with the full range of emotions, especially feelings of frustration, anger, disappointment. etc. that comes with living. #2 Social Skills The connection to other people. Learning the tools of interaction-making friends, developing empathy for others, active listening, accepting differences in others. #3 Life Skills Basics of living– keeping clean, money management, basic cooking, being responsible. #4 Emotional Regulation Skills Development of self control. #5 Critical Thinking Skills Ability to think for ones self. And, the ability to problem solve and make rational decisions that are beneficial and not harmful.
