Identity fraud - Cyber-crime Site Pushes Forged Passports, Licenses - eWeek Security Watch

Cyber-crime Site Pushes Forged Passports, Licenses

Written By
Brian Prince
Brian Prince
Aug 26, 2010
1 minute read
eWeek content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More

Interested in a fake passport? There is an online forum for people like you.

McAfee researcher Francios Paget found a Russian site selling, among other things, fake passports for dozens of countries. The operation is not inexpensive for the buyers, however. The cheapest passport is for Azerbaijan and costs $870 (USD). A French passport costs $5,530. To get it, a customer must send the forgers personal information plus a signature and photo, according to Paget.

“You must contact them via a contact form or by mail (@usa.com) to initiate the deal,” he told eWEEK. “They do not discuss [business] via phone, icq nor SMS. There is no payment detail available. I suspect they use (or used in the past) Western Union. If you send a mail, you receive a reply in a day from an “administrator”.”

The site also offers driver’s licenses as well. Though not unique, the site’s role as a marketplace for passports and licenses is not particularly common, Paget said.

In addition to offering passport forgery services, the site owners also take a more traditional route by offering to sell batches of credit cards at 10 cards a time. The balances on the cards range from $2,000 (USD) to $15,000. There are also Platinum cards guaranteed up to $50,000.

“This site is only dedicated for sales,” he said. “They call themselves “Vendor of Cards”.”

Read more about the Russian hacker underground here on eWEEK.

eWeek Logo

eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site's focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

Property of TechnologyAdvice. © 2026 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.