Deepfake hiccup unmasks suspected digital certificate fraudster
Face-swap software blinked for 'barely a second,' giving Spanish cops the break they needed
Spain's national police say they caught a cybercriminal after a momentary technical glitch exposed his face to a video identification platform.
The unnamed man allegedly made 38 attempts to impersonate 30 people and obtain digital certificates in their names, succeeding on multiple occasions.
A digital certificate uses public key infrastructure to bind a cryptographic key to a verified identity, allowing its holder to authenticate themselves and create legally recognized electronic signatures.
In Spain and other EU countries, certificates can be used to sign contracts, authorize transactions and deal with public bodies online, avoiding some of the in-person appointments traditionally required for administrative procedures.
A certificate issued in someone else's name would therefore give a scammer a powerful tool for impersonation. Police allege that the suspect planned to use the fraudulently obtained credentials in further cybercrimes.
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