US and Dutch Police dismantle VerifTools fake ID marketplace

US and Dutch police have shut down VerifTools, a major fake ID marketplace that sold documents to bypass KYC checks and access online accounts. Authorities seized two marketplace domains and one blog, with the Dutch police also dismantling the infrastructure by taking two physical servers and 21 virtual servers hosted at an Amsterdam data centre.

The FBI began investigating in August 2022 after uncovering a conspiracy to use stolen identity information to access cryptocurrency accounts, and it found that VerifTools offered counterfeit IDs for all 50 US states and multiple foreign countries for as little as nine dollars, with payments accepted in cryptocurrency. The FBI has identified approximately $6.4 million in illicit proceeds linked to the marketplace. The U.S.

Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico announced the seizure of the domains and blog used to sell fraudulent documents to cybercriminals worldwide, and the Dutch press cited that the platform enabled bypassing Know Your Customer checks by submitting photos and false data to generate fake IDs. VerifTools earned at least €1.3 million before its takedown.