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Takedown follows FBI investigation, but marketplace appears to resurface soon after.
The US Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico announced the seizure late last week of internet infrastructure supporting a popular website for creating and selling fake identity documents, such as passports and driver’s licenses.
Two marketplace domains and a blog linked to VerifTools were seized by the FBI, Dutch national police, the Netherlands Public Prosecution Service, and the US Attorney’s Office.
“The internet is not a refuge for criminals. If you build or sell tools that let offenders impersonate victims, you are part of the crime,” acting US Attorney Ryan Ellison said in a 28 August announcement.
“We will use every lawful tool to disrupt your business, take the profit out of it, and bring you to justice. No one operation is bigger than us together. With our partners at every level of law enforcement, we will protect New Mexicans and defend those who stand up for our community.”
The FBI began its investigation into the site in 2022 following the discovery of a conspiracy to use stolen identity information to access cryptocurrency accounts. The investigation led to VerifTools, which the FBI discovered was providing fake documents for all 50 US states, as well as many other countries – including Australia and New Zealand – for as little as US$9 in crypto.
Investigators identified US$6.4 million in criminal proceeds linked to the marketplace.
Philip Russell, acting special agent in charge of the FBI Albuquerque division, said the takedown was a “major step” towards protecting the public from identity theft.
“Together with our partners, we will continue to target and dismantle the platforms that criminals depend on, no matter where they operate.”
No arrests were made, however, and the marketplace’s operators moved quickly to establish a new iteration of the marketplace, which is continuing to advertise the same services.
“Verif Tools is a service for creating high-quality photos of ID documents,” the new site, which continues to be active as of the time of writing, said.
“You can create passports, ID cards, driver’s licenses, bills, and bank statements of different countries in just two minutes.”
The site does note, somewhat disingenuously, that “legal usage of the service is your responsibility”.
“By using the service, you must be aware of the local, state and federal laws in your jurisdiction and take sole responsibility for your actions,” it said.
The site features a wide range of tutorials for everything, from how to get a fake proof-of-address without utility bills, how to remove the traces of Photoshop manipulation from metadata, and advice on “How to create a good fake ID”.
David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.
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