TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Police have uncovered a network including a Chinese illustrator selling forged ID documents online, reports said Wednesday (Dec. 27).
The unemployed Taipei City resident named Ho (何) advertised his forgery services on Facebook and on the Telegram app. Each forged document was priced NT$20,000 (US$647) at most, per CNA.
A police officer in the city’s Wenshan District discovered the practice during a routine Internet checkup. He found that Ho, 35, used confidential Facebook and Telegram groups to offer forged Taiwan ID cards.
Each time Ho received an order, he would send the necessary information to an illustrator in China using the WeChat messaging app. The Chinese man would return his finished work to Ho by the same route.
During the final stage, Ho would handle the cutting and laminating of the ID himself, police said. He would keep 60% of the income, ranging between NT$12,000 and NT$20,000 per document, for himself, with 40% going to his partner in China.
The fake IDs were sent out in packages to convenience stores in order to evade discovery by police. If a client brought in other customers, he could benefit from a NT$5,000 bonus.
Ho later expanded his services to include the forgery of documents necessary to rent a car, preventing the rental firm from finding their client’s true identity.
Police decided to raid several locations across the country on Dec. 19-20. They also detained seven suspects, including Ho. The forged ID documents were difficult to identify without the use of sophisticated equipment or without putting them side by side with real ones, according to police.
