1. Physically altered passports
2. Passports with serial numbers that are watch-listed as lost or stolen
3. Handwritten documents that are easily forged or altered
4. Multiple passports used by the same person with variations in the spelling/structure of the name and of date of birth
5. Ambiguous or contradictory information submitted to consular or border control officials
6. Absence of supporting documents to corroborate passport information
7. Passports with glued-in photographs
8. Large gaps in travel history as reflected in stamps and visas

False travel documents are often based on lost or stolen passports.
Prompt reporting of missing documents can be an effective deterrent to this threat.

If you are overseas, report your lost or stolen passport to the nearest US embassy or consulate immediately
In the United States, report your lost or stolen passport to the Department of State’s Passport Services group;
call 1-877-487-2778

If you find someone else’s lost passport, mail it to:

U.S. Department of State
Passport Services
Consular Lost/Stolen Passport Section
1111 19th Street, NW, Suite 500
Washington, DC 20036

For more information, please visit http://travel.state.gov/passport/lost/lost_848.html

Ahmed Ressam, sentenced to 22 years in prison in 2005 for planning to bomb Los Angeles International Airport on 31 December 1999, acquired this ostensibly genuine Canadian passport by using a fraudulent baptismal certificate; the obscured name was Western-sounding in an attempt to evade scrutiny at the border.