The Latest Challenge: Expert Forged ID Documents Available for Very Little Money
A cottage industry has sprung up in recent years. Hidden in the back alleys of the “darknet” are the identity forgery professionals who churn out counterfeit ID documents sold in the hidden internet found on The Onion Router (TOR) networks.
Originally developed as a secure communication channel by the US Naval Research Laboratory, onion routers (called so because encrypted data is bounced randomly through multiple layers of a network of relays run by volunteers around the globe) have been co-opted by organized criminal groups around the globe as a means to transfer goods (personally identifiable data (PII), drugs, pornography, weapons) and money (usually Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency) to enable black market commerce to go undetected by law enforcement.
In a recent visit to several such marketplaces, we found shops selling identity “fullz” (a term used among criminals that means a complete set of personal data – often including passwords, credit card numbers, answers to secret questions, social security numbers, credit scores and more) in batches as small as 12 at a time for as little as $6 each. In these same markets, we would receive targeted banner ads that adapted to the various searches and vendors we had visited. One particularly savvy forgery shop served promotional ads offering ID services to provide fake ID documents that matched any PII we might purchase.
Make no mistake about it! Some of the offshore forgery vendors are extremely good at what they do. We've bought dozens of documents from sites such as Abacus, BriansMarket and Torzon. At this year's International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators (IAFCI) show, we had the chance to put them in front of quite a few Secret Service, FBI, Postal Inspector and police officers. Not many were able to identify the better fakes.
It Isn’t The Same Old Game Anymore
While it is still possible to find college students with atrociously bad fake ID’s trying to get into nightclubs or casinos, even this corner of the industry has changed, as basic Google searches will turn up numerous websites brazenly advertising “novelty” fake driver licenses — novelty documents good enough to pass barcode and/or magnetic-strip scans, according to the sellers’ websites.
We have ordered dozens of these ID’s and, although some of them look quite good to the naked eye, ultimately, the quality is only mediocre at best. Often, the images used to print the background graphics are low resolution and blurry. In many cases, close scrutiny of the facial image of the card holder will show obvious seams where they were glued or photo-shopped on top of the background.
Synthetic Identities and AI-Generated Fakes
Even more alarming is the recent rise in synthetic identity fraud—a fast-growing form of financial crime where real and fabricated information are blended to create new, non-existent individuals. Fraudsters often use stolen Social Security Numbers (often belonging to children, the deceased, or those not actively monitored) combined with fake names and birthdates to build completely new credit profiles. These synthetic identities can slip past traditional verification systems undetected, build credit histories over time, and eventually "bust out" with large fraudulent loans or purchases.
In parallel, emerging AI-driven technologies are now being weaponized by fraudsters to create ultra-realistic fake ID documents. Deep learning tools can generate high-resolution facial composites and falsified document templates, complete with authentic-looking fonts, holograms, barcodes, and microtext. What once required an experienced human designer can now be done by an AI script in minutes. Some forgers are even offering “custom synthetic identity packages” that include matching fake documents, deepfakes for remote video verification, and manipulated utility bills—all for under $100.
These next-generation forgeries are no longer crude attempts to fool a nightclub bouncer—they’re built to deceive banks, government systems, healthcare providers, and high-value access points.
What Should You Do?
Identity lies at the heart of so much of what we do these days. Further exacerbating the general "identity problem" is the degree to which interactions have moved to online/remote/not present platforms.
Organizations that must - as a part of their regular practice - allow an individual to obtain access to anything of value must authenticate identity. The breadth of potential targets for ID fraudsters is both surprising and alarming:
- Banking
- Healthcare
- Digital Services
- Real Estate
- Access Control
- Age restricted sales
- Gaming
- Consumer Credit
these are just a few of the many facets of our lives where a criminal with access to the correct personally identifying information ad a properly designed forged document can wreak havoc.
FraudFighter™ ID (formerly PALIDIN) offers a robust suite of tools built specifically to meet today’s evolving fraud threats. Whether you're validating an ID in-person at a point-of-sale or remotely via a digital onboarding process, FraudFighter ID enables instant, layered document authentication using forensic-level checks, barcode/QR validation, facial match technology, and tamper detection—all within a user-friendly interface that requires little to no training.
Whether you’re a financial institution fighting synthetic identities, a cannabis retailer checking age-restricted purchases, or a healthcare provider confirming new patient intake, FraudFighter ID gives you a critical edge in detecting even the most sophisticated forgeries—AI-generated or otherwise.