Cablegate: Fraud Summary Tallinn: First Qtr Fy2007

VZCZCXRO5466
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHTL #1139/01 3621219
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 281219Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY TALLINN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9382
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TALLINN 001139

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR CA/FPP; DEPT ALSO PASS TO KCC: POSTS FOR FRAUD
PREVENTION MANAGERS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KFRD CVIS CPAS CMGT ASEC EN
SUBJECT: FRAUD SUMMARY TALLINN: FIRST QTR FY2007

REF: 05 STATE 205073

Answers keyed to reftel:

A. COUNTRY CONDITIONS: No change from previous fraud summary.

B. NIV FRAUD: No significant changes from the previous fraud
summary.
The name of a Brooklyn, NY, resident who appears to be a visa
facilitator
continues to show up occasionally as the U.S. contact for otherwise
clearly
214(b) refusal cases. Post will continue to monitor and investigate
this
individual?s activities related to visa applications in Tallinn.
This person?s
U.S. contact information is apparently used by at least one Estonian
travel
agency that assists Estonians with the visa application process.

Post continues to verify applicant-provided information using
various online
resources, included but not limited to Lexis-Nexis, which we are
finding to
be a valuable and far-reaching tool to research applicant claims
regarding
U.S. residents and businesses.

C. IV FRAUD: Post has recently investigated a K visa petitioner
after the
applicant claimed no taxable income for several years and is
apparently
unable to show the legitimacy of his claimed business activities in
the U.S.

D. DV FRAUD: Post does not issue diversity visas. We have,
however,
provided DV information to the Estonian public regarding DV-related

scams, including one in which over $700 was demanded for the
?winner?s?
visa processing.

E. ACS AND PASSPORT FRAUD: Post reports no ACS fraud.

F. ADOPTION: No change from previous fraud summary.

G. ASYLUM AND OTHER DHS FRAUD: No change from previous
fraud summary.

H. COOPERATION WITH HOST GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES:
Since the previous fraud summary, Post has initiated a fully
automated
system to daily retrieve lost and stolen passport information from
the
Estonian government website on which it is posted. Initially, data
was
retrieved by a stand-alone computer in Tallinn and emailed to the
Consular
Section for forwarding to the Support Desk. Since December 8, the
process
has been completely automated in Estonia with the stand-alone PC
sending
its reports directly to the Support Desk. Post is working with
consular
sections at a few other posts in an effort to combine retrieval of
lost and
stolen passport data so that the 50-passport threshold for batch
entry can be
reached every day. Currently, using only Estonian data, the
threshold is
reached one to two times each week.

I. AREAS OF PARTICULAR CONCERN: Post has met with border
guards at air, land, and sea crossings to discuss issues faced at
those points
of entry into Estonia and to offer Post?s assistance in verifying
the validity
of questionable U.S. travel documents. We are seeking to enlarge
data
sharing with GOE officials beyond the lost and stolen passport
data.

J. STAFFING AND TRAINING: The consular section consists of two
officers, one consular associate and two FSNs. The FSNs and consular

associate assist with fraud prevention work as required. Both
officers have
completed PC541 Fraud Prevention for Consular Managers. The Visa
Assistant has recently completed PC-542 FSN Fraud Prevention.

TALLINN 00001139 002 OF 002

GOLSTEIN

© Scoop Media