Social media offers to create fake digital IDs are surging. (Photo: a screenshot from X)
SEOUL, Jan. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — A surge in social media offers to create fake digital IDs, mainly targeting minors seeking age-restricted products, is threatening South Korea’s newly-launched mobile identification system.
A search for “mobile ID creation” on X reveals dozens of posts offering counterfeit services. One account advertises a two-minute turnaround time for 30,000 won, promising to create mobile IDs with customized birthdates and aliases. The seller even offers instructions on using QR codes for purchasing alcohol and tobacco at convenience stores.
Another account, operating under the name “Mobile ID Production,” promotes its services for use in bars and convenience stores, offering to send sample IDs to potential customers. Posts tagged with phrases like “ID forgery” and “ID production” have garnered hundreds of views.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety took action in late 2023 after receiving reports of business owners facing temporary closure for unknowingly selling alcohol and tobacco to minors using forged mobile credentials. The ministry identified 158 social media accounts selling counterfeit mobile verification services and referred them to law enforcement for investigation.
Experts are calling for enhanced security measures and increased awareness as the government expands its digital identification system, which already includes mobile driver’s licenses and overseas citizen IDs.
“The system for preventing forgery of mobile IDs isn’t yet foolproof,” said Lee Woong-hyuk, a professor of police science at Konkuk University. “We need to clearly analyze and address security vulnerabilities.”
Yeom Gun-woong, a professor of police and fire administration at U1 University, emphasized the importance of educating business owners about proper verification procedures. “Restaurant and convenience store owners must be taught to verify IDs through the official government application rather than accepting screenshot images,” he said.
Some experts suggest updating the Resident Registration Act, which currently imposes penalties of up to three years in prison or fines up to 30 million won for physical ID forgery, to explicitly include digital identification fraud.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety maintains that the mobile IDs cannot be forged, citing blockchain technology and advanced encryption. “Since its launch in 2022, the mobile driver’s license system has issued over 4 million credentials without a single instance of forgery,” a ministry official stated, adding that officials are working with the Small Enterprise and Market Service to educate small business owners about proper verification procedures.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
