2 hours Ago
Use of Deepfake Technology
Sebastiaan J. told the court he intended to "make money fast" and responded to a TikTok post about easy work at home. He then spoke to someone named 'Mick', who told him he could be paid in cryptocurrency for providing photos and videos of himself. Although he believed the people he filmed would use his photo for AI advertising, he later discovered that they allegedly used it to bypass ABN AMRO's identity verification system.
At ABN AMRO, a customer can open an account using a smartphone, which would require them to take a photo of their ID and a selfie. There was an instance where an account was opened in a woman's name, but Sebastiaan's face appeared in the selfie because it had been changed to match the ID using AI. Investigators have found that 46 accounts were opened similarly, with images of Sebastiaan being adjusted to look like images of different people.
Investigation and Evidence
In November, the Marechaussee stopped Sebastiaan at a border checkpoint, where officers observed him attempting to delete the Telegram app from his phone. During a subsequent search of his car, officers discovered envelopes that contained debit cards along with the PINs attached to those debit cards, all of which were associated with ABN AMRO accounts. Officers also recovered dozens of fake identification documents and found evidence of chat logs between Sebastiaan and ChatGPT, where Sebastiaan allegedly sought ways to bypass the bank's security measures.
CCTV footage allegedly shows Sebastiaan making large cash deposits into some of those accounts and raises suspicion of money laundering. Officers have also recovered a Marktplaats account that linked him to the false advertisement of a property for rent in Amsterdam. Officers found that people interested in renting the property were asked to provide documents such as a pay stub and a copy of an ID, which allegedly were then used to open bank accounts.
Sebastiaan J. has claimed that he just recently discovered that images of him were being used fraudulently and claims Mick pressured him into continuing. Prosecutors argue he was aware or should have been aware that his actions were connected to an activity that was illegal.
