According to a report by “404 Media,” a new service claiming to use artificial intelligence “neural networks” and “generators” to create fake identity documents such as driver’s licenses and passports has successfully produced counterfeit identity documents and passed Know Your Customer (KYC) verification by multiple cryptocurrency exchanges.
The website, called OnlyFake, is said to be able to generate fake driver’s licenses and passports from 26 different countries, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and several European Union countries, within a minute. The service accepts payment in various cryptocurrencies through Coinbase’s commercial payment service, with a cost of only $15.
Joseph, co-founder of 404 Media, shared that he used the OnlyFake service to create a fake identity and successfully deceived the KYC system of the OKX exchange.
While the OnlyFake website claims that it does not “produce counterfeit documents as it is illegal” and its terms of service state that the generated templates are only for “movies, TV shows, and internet illustrations,” many users have shared their successful experiences of bypassing KYC verification on exchanges using OnlyFake in online communities. Some users even generated 100 fake identities simultaneously using Excel spreadsheet data.
Even the anonymous owner of OnlyFake, John Wick, stated that these fake identities can bypass KYC verification on exchanges such as Binance, Kraken, Bybit, Huobi, Coinbase, OKX, and the cryptocurrency-accepting neobank Revolut.
The maturity of AI technology will pose a serious challenge to KYC systems on platforms, including exchanges. Jimmy Su, Chief Security Officer of Binance, had previously warned in May 2023 that deepfake technology is becoming increasingly advanced and will become a major obstacle in KYC verification for exchanges in the future.
Related report: “Hidden dangers of AI technology development! Binance Chief Security Officer: Deepfake poses a growing threat to exchange KYC verification.”
