Unveiled: The shocking rise of fake Australian IDs on the dark web
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The dark web—the secret, encrypted part of the internet used for illegal activities—has always been a hotspot for buying fake IDs and other documents. But while it’s something that we’ve all heard of, but didn’t think was happening right here in Australia.
According to recent reports, the second most common fake IDs sold on these sites are from Australia.
New research from the Centre of Forensic Science at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) revealed that Australian IDs are some of the most common fraudulent documents traded on the dark web worldwide—second only to the US.
These documents, such as driver’s licences, are used by criminal organisations for many different types of illicit activities—ranging from identity crime, money laundering, human and drug trafficking, illegal immigration, and espionage.
UTS PhD student, Ciara Devlin, has created a forensic profiling system to assist the police in targeting the crime networks responsible for infiltrating these fake documents in Australia.
Devlin said that not much has been discovered on the operation of document fraud in Australia, as police charge individuals holding these documents instead of tracing the sources of the documents.
She added that fake documents were being circulated on cryptomarkets on the dark web, and these can be traced back to common sources.
Cryptomarkets are platforms where goods and services–both legal and illegal–are being sold on the online market. These platforms are hidden from our usual search engines, and they can be accessed using anonymising browsers, such as Tor (The Onion Router) browser.
Tor browser enables people to communicate anonymously online to prevent anyone from tracking their internet activity.
'I found that Australian documents are some of the most common products listed for sale, and sold, second only to the United States, with prolific offenders contributing to the majority of the Australian document sales,' she said.
‘I have been able to gain an insight into a possible route of distribution for fake identity documents, as well as the role Australian documents play within the overall marketplace.’
Delvin added that the counterfeit identity documents market is an internationally organised market and controlled by key offenders.
‘The manufacture and distribution of fraudulent identity documents is a pervasive and prolific crime problem, so much so that Europol has said that fraudulent identity documents are a threat that enables and facilitates most, if not all, other types of serious and organised crime,’ she said.
Devlin also visually profiled 48 fake documents, analysing the replication of security features, the printing processes, and mistakes made. Through her analysis, almost 90 per cent of the documents were linked to each other, and she pinpointed five common sources.
‘This research can inform law enforcement and security organisations and help them to target their efforts towards specific types of fraud, such as loan fraud, or specific areas, such as mail entering Australia from countries that have a high number of sales of fraudulent Australian documents,’ Devlin said.
She hoped that NSW would implement her forensic profiling system to help prevent the spread of fake identity documents in the country.
Identity theft is becoming more rampant in Australia, as criminals steal and use other’s personal information as scapegoats for their scams. In a previous story, identity and cyber support service IDCARE reported that over 74,000 Australians have become victims of identity theft this year.
According to Dr Anthony Morgan of the Australian Institute of Criminology (IAC), online transactions are a hotspot for stealing personal information, the most prevalent being online and selling on social media platforms.
If you or someone else’s personal information has been exposed, you may contact the following:
What do you think of this story? Have you ever come across stories of people selling fake IDs? Let us know in the comments below!
According to recent reports, the second most common fake IDs sold on these sites are from Australia.
New research from the Centre of Forensic Science at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) revealed that Australian IDs are some of the most common fraudulent documents traded on the dark web worldwide—second only to the US.
These documents, such as driver’s licences, are used by criminal organisations for many different types of illicit activities—ranging from identity crime, money laundering, human and drug trafficking, illegal immigration, and espionage.
Fake Australian documents were the second most in-demand documents sold on the dark web. Credit: Unsplash
UTS PhD student, Ciara Devlin, has created a forensic profiling system to assist the police in targeting the crime networks responsible for infiltrating these fake documents in Australia.
Devlin said that not much has been discovered on the operation of document fraud in Australia, as police charge individuals holding these documents instead of tracing the sources of the documents.
She added that fake documents were being circulated on cryptomarkets on the dark web, and these can be traced back to common sources.
Cryptomarkets are platforms where goods and services–both legal and illegal–are being sold on the online market. These platforms are hidden from our usual search engines, and they can be accessed using anonymising browsers, such as Tor (The Onion Router) browser.
Tor browser enables people to communicate anonymously online to prevent anyone from tracking their internet activity.
'I found that Australian documents are some of the most common products listed for sale, and sold, second only to the United States, with prolific offenders contributing to the majority of the Australian document sales,' she said.
‘I have been able to gain an insight into a possible route of distribution for fake identity documents, as well as the role Australian documents play within the overall marketplace.’
Delvin added that the counterfeit identity documents market is an internationally organised market and controlled by key offenders.
‘The manufacture and distribution of fraudulent identity documents is a pervasive and prolific crime problem, so much so that Europol has said that fraudulent identity documents are a threat that enables and facilitates most, if not all, other types of serious and organised crime,’ she said.
Devlin also visually profiled 48 fake documents, analysing the replication of security features, the printing processes, and mistakes made. Through her analysis, almost 90 per cent of the documents were linked to each other, and she pinpointed five common sources.
‘This research can inform law enforcement and security organisations and help them to target their efforts towards specific types of fraud, such as loan fraud, or specific areas, such as mail entering Australia from countries that have a high number of sales of fraudulent Australian documents,’ Devlin said.
She hoped that NSW would implement her forensic profiling system to help prevent the spread of fake identity documents in the country.
Identity theft is becoming more rampant in Australia, as criminals steal and use other’s personal information as scapegoats for their scams. In a previous story, identity and cyber support service IDCARE reported that over 74,000 Australians have become victims of identity theft this year.
According to Dr Anthony Morgan of the Australian Institute of Criminology (IAC), online transactions are a hotspot for stealing personal information, the most prevalent being online and selling on social media platforms.
If you or someone else’s personal information has been exposed, you may contact the following:
- ASD’s ACSC ReportCyber
- Scamwatch (000)
- IDCARE (1800 595 160)
What do you think of this story? Have you ever come across stories of people selling fake IDs? Let us know in the comments below!
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