Sales of fake Australian IDs rampant on the dark web, second only to the US

Fake Australian identity documents such as driver's licences are some of the most commonly bought and sold products on the dark web, new research has found.

New findings by the Centre of Forensic Science at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) show Australian documents are some of the most common products listed for sale on the dark, second only to the US.

UTS PhD student, Ciara Devlin, has created a forensic profiling system for these fraudulent identity documents, aiming to assist police in targeting the crime networks responsible for their widespread infiltration in Australia.

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She said that little is currently known about the operation of document fraud in Australia, with police usually charging the individuals holding the documents instead of identifying the source of the documents.

Devlin found that these fake documents are widely circulated via cryptomarkets on the dark web and can be traced back to common sources.

"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," said Devlin.

"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."

Criminal organisations distribute fake identity documents on the dark web to be used in many illicit activities, such as identity crime, money laundering, human and drug trafficking, illegal immigration, scams and espionage.

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According to Devlin, the market for counterfeit identity documents is highly organised at an international level 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 said she visually profiled 48 fake identity documents, examining the replication of security features, the printing processes used, and mistakes made.

Almost 90 per cent were linked to each other and five common sources emerged, according to Devlin.

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"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," she said.

Devlin said she hopes her forensic profiling system will be implemented by NSW police to help counter the spread of fake identity documents in Australia.