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Beginning July 1, the government of Puerto Rico will start issuing new birth certificates to replace all current ones which will be invalidated on June 30.

"The United States Department of State came to Puerto Rico and brought to our attention that about 8,000 cases of passport fraud were investigated by one of their departments and 40 percent of those fraudulent passports were expedited using birth certificates being issued in Puerto Rico. That of course brought it to our attention that we in return need to do something to protect the identity of those that are born in the island," said Luis Balzac of the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration.

As Puerto Rico tries to protect its citizens' identities, scam artists are already trying to take advantage of the situation with phony emails asking for personal information.

"The government of Puerto Rico is not sending out emails to individuals requesting them to do anything," Balzac said.

Ads for assistance in obtaining a birth certificate are also offering unnecessary services.

"It is five dollars. There is no need for anyone to spend extra money in getting extra service. No service will receive special treatment," Balzac said.

To apply for a new Puerto Rican birth certificate, all you have to do is send in an application either online at http://www.pr.gov or by mail.

For more information, you can call The Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration at (212) 252-7300.