Heard the One About the Chinese Ship That Sailed on Land? No Joke

Empty cargo ships sit idle in the Singapore Strait as the sun sets over a hazy Singapore skyline. Photographer: Peter Novacco/Getty Images
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People aren't the only ones affected by identity theft. Tankers, cargo freighters and other ships sailing in the Central Pacific and off the coast of West Africa are increasingly pretending to be vessels that they're not, according to a startup.

In July, almost 700 ships worldwide engaged in identity fraud, which has grown 30 percent in the past two years, according to new research from Windward, which monitors the worldwide system for tracking merchant vessels and uses data-analytics to detect illegal activities.