Forged CSCS cards ‘impossible to spot’

Industry experts have no idea how many fake CSCS cards are in circulation because most forgeries are so good nobody can tell them from the real thing.

But leaders of the skills scheme are now hoping that the planned introduction of new smart-card technology next year will cut down the rampant fraud levels.

Unite national construction secretary Bob Blackman said: "Unfortunately the current CSCS cards are based on technology which is 20 years out of date so they are easy to forge."

CSCS scheme manager Gordon Jenkins admitted: "There has been a noticeable increase in the number of fraudulent cards that have been reported. However, it is impossible to know the true scale of the problem because many of the fake cards are so good that it is unlikely that they would be spotted by the majority of people."

Jenkins is now hoping SmartCard technology will be introduced next year which will make CSCS cards much harder to forge.

Blackman said: "This was supposed to happen two years ago, but got delayed because of worries over costs."

The problem of forgeries hit the headlines last week when three men were jailed for up to five-and-half years for producing bogus CSCS cards and passports.

The fake skills cards used the name and number of a genuine operative with just the photograph changed.

A CSCS counterfeiting ring was also unearthed in Luton in June 2007 after fake cards were spotted during construction of the Emirates Stadium in London.

One industry expert said: "This has been a problem since the scheme started and only smart cards will stop it. You can still buy a fake card for as little as £40 and often they are handed out to people for the duration of a contract then taken back when a new picture is put on ready for the next job."