November 18, 1998
Web posted at: 9:54 p.m. EST (0254 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. State Department has begun issuing passports using a new, more fraud-resistant format designed to make life tougher for terrorists and scam artists.

The first passport featuring the new technology, which includes digital photographs rather than those of the traditional paper variety, was issued this week by the passport office in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

By late 1999, all domestic passport agencies will be issuing the new passports. U.S. embassies and consulates in other countries will continue to issue the old-style passports, although the State Department is studying the feasibility of upgrading its international passport operations as well.

"This innovation vastly enhances the security of the passport," said State Department spokesman James Rubin in a statement. "Having a computer-generated image of the bearer in the passport makes it much less vulnerable to photo substitution."

Other innovations include a multicolored hologram across the passport photo, as well as personal data and wavy lines added behind the photograph to make it easier to detect fake documents.

According to the State Department, about 15,000 U.S. passports were reported stolen from Americans traveling abroad in 1997. Once altered, stolen passports have been used by drug smugglers, illegal aliens, people committing financial crimes -- even terrorists.

Criminal organizations charge up to $30,000 for expertly altered passports and even provide specialized training to their clients to help them impersonate the legitimate passport bearer, according to the State Department.