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The FBI and Dutch police report the closure of the VerifTools marketplace, which specialized in creating fake documents. Law enforcement officers confiscated the resource's servers, which were located in Amsterdam.
VerifTools was a large platform that produced fake documents (such as driver's licenses and passports), as well as brokered their purchase. Such fakes were usually used to bypass various identity verification systems, and also helped criminals impersonate other people (both real and fictitious).
Police note that such sites are often used in bank fraud schemes, phishing, scams with fake tech support, to illegally obtain government benefits, evade prosecution, and maintain anonymity on platforms that require users to undergo KYC checks.
The FBI reportedly began investigating VerifTools back in August 2022 after receiving information about a “conspiracy to use stolen personal information to access cryptocurrency accounts.
[td]“The investigation revealed that VerifTools was offering counterfeit documents for all 50 U.S. states and several foreign countries for as little as $9, paid in cryptocurrency,” the statement from law enforcement reads.[/td]According to Dutch police, VerifTools’ estimated revenue was at least €1.3 million. However, the FBI attributes around $6.4 million in illegal proceeds to VerifTools.
It is noted that it was very easy to obtain a fake document on the platform: it was enough to upload a photo and enter false information. VerifTools used this data to generate an image of a fake ID.
In total, two physical and 21 virtual servers were confiscated during the law enforcement operation. However, it has not yet been possible to identify the administrators of VerifTools, and authorities hope that studying the confiscated data will eventually lead to their arrest.
VerifTools was a large platform that produced fake documents (such as driver's licenses and passports), as well as brokered their purchase. Such fakes were usually used to bypass various identity verification systems, and also helped criminals impersonate other people (both real and fictitious).
Police note that such sites are often used in bank fraud schemes, phishing, scams with fake tech support, to illegally obtain government benefits, evade prosecution, and maintain anonymity on platforms that require users to undergo KYC checks.
The FBI reportedly began investigating VerifTools back in August 2022 after receiving information about a “conspiracy to use stolen personal information to access cryptocurrency accounts.
It is noted that it was very easy to obtain a fake document on the platform: it was enough to upload a photo and enter false information. VerifTools used this data to generate an image of a fake ID.
In total, two physical and 21 virtual servers were confiscated during the law enforcement operation. However, it has not yet been possible to identify the administrators of VerifTools, and authorities hope that studying the confiscated data will eventually lead to their arrest.