An undercover investigation reveals that Chicago's O'Hare and Midway airports' TSA security checkpoints are not as stringent as they would like you to believe, MyFoxChicago.com reported Monday.
Fox Chicago News reportedly launched its own security probe by flying employees of various races and genders — male, female, African-American, Caucasian and Muslim — on different airlines to several destinations throughout the U.S.
The station had the employees fly without a photo identification, which meant they could not carry a passport or driver's license with them.
The employees were allowed to pass through security without a photo ID, as long as they could provide a credit card to verify their name matched the one on their boarding pass, MyFoxChicago.com reported.
"This is fascinating," said Anthony D'Angelo, a former FBI agent who watched the hidden video of the Fox employees getting through security at both Chicago airports.
"To get a bogus credit card is one of the easiest forms of identification to get."
D'Angelo, who used to head Midway and O’Hare security, told the station he was alarmed that TSA agents weren't conducting more thorough security checks.
"If you’re a terrorist or doing surveillance to check out secure areas of the airport, it would be very easy to get into those secure areas without any identification," D'Angelo reportedly told MyFoxChicago.com.
The September 11 Commission warned the TSA about this very issue. The commission's final report included ten pages that focused on terrorism and identity fraud, MyFoxChicago.com reported.
The report states: "Travel documents are as important as weapons. Fraud is no longer just a problem of theft. At many entry points to vulnerable facilities, including gates for boarding aircraft, sources of identification are the last opportunity to ensure that people are who they say they are."
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