Fake Digital Driver's License: illegal document carries risks and can lead to arrest; look!
Groups and users on social networks are freely trading fake versions of the Digital CNH. Counterfeit versions of the identification document are sold for prices starting at R$50.
In a quick search, you can find groups like “False Identity and Editables” on Facebook. In the virtual environment, people offer their services to create not only a driver's license, but also several other documents.
In one publication, a user sells old and new IDs, proof of income, proof of address, voter registration cards, medical certificates, invoices and even falsified school records.
It is possible to easily find advertisements for fake Digital CNH on social networks such as Facebook (Image: Reproduction/Facebook)
In the case of the fake Digital CNH, advertisers promise that it is used for accommodation, tickets, nights out, chip removal, entry to shows and to work on transport apps, for example.
How do scammers forge a Digital Driver's License?
The Digital CNH was released in the country at the beginning of 2018. Since then, drivers who already have the document on paper can also access a version via the app.
According to the government, the Digital CNH is “a safe way to always have your documents at hand, with the same validity as printed documents. Another advantage is being able to share the vehicle’s digital document with other people who use it.”
And if the digital driver's license works from an official application, how can scammers manage to fake it? A case discovered by the Federal Highway Police (PRF) raised awareness of the crime.
The fake CNH Digital app even has a QR Code, but the code takes you to a random website (Image: Reproduction/Jornal Nacional)
On January 4th of this year, a driver was detained in Barra do Ribeiro, in the Metropolitan Region of Porto Alegre, after almost causing an accident with a PRF car. When approached, the 43-year-old man presented the digital version of his driving license.
Everything seemed perfect on the app, until the police carried out a check and discovered that the individual's original driver's license had been suspended for 18 years.
A video recorded by police officers shows that the fake application simulates the real one and shows all the person's information, as if it were the real software. In the “package”, the scammers even offer a PDF version of the driver's license.
Risks and punishment for those who use a fake Digital Driver's License
The Penal Code provides harsh penalties for both those who forge and those who purchase forged documents. Forgery of private documents is a crime punishable by imprisonment for two to six years and a fine.
Furthermore, anyone who uses non-original versions of any digital application runs several risks. By not knowing the origin of the application, the software can rely on malicious agents such as malware.
Using false documents can lead to prison (Image: Getty Images)
The system may contain spyware, adware, Worms, Trojan horses, botnets and others. As a result, the person can put their bank details, personal information and files, social media accounts, email, etc. at risk.
Other side
O TecMundo contacted Meta (the company that owns Facebook) to check whether the advertisements for false documents follow the social network's rules. In a note, the company highlighted that Facebook's Community Standards “do not allow our services to be used to promote criminal activity and we are always improving our technology to combat suspicious activity.”
“We also recommend that people report any content they believe goes against Facebook's Community Standards and Meta's Advertising Standards through the app itself,” reads the rest of the company's statement.
