Belgian municipalities identified nearly 3,500 suspected cases of identity fraud last year, while police recorded more than 10,000 related complaints.
According to the Home Affairs Ministry, 3,482 suspected cases of identity fraud were investigated in 2025, of which 401 were referred to public prosecutors for judicial follow-up. The Federal Police separately registered more than 10,000 complaints.
The Ministry said the figures are likely to underestimate the scale of the problem but underline the need for closer cooperation between municipalities, police and federal authorities.
Identity fraud and fraudulent registrations in the population register can be used to obtain social benefits illegally, facilitate organised crime and support cybercrime, the administration warned.
In recent months, the Ministry has organised 16 training sessions across Belgium for 534 municipal officials responsible for detecting and reporting identity fraud. The training covered how to identify warning signs during identity card applications, recognise forged documents and respond appropriately to suspected fraud.
The administration also urged citizens to immediately block lost or stolen identity cards through the DOC STOP service and report thefts to the police before requesting a replacement card from their municipality.
Banks, telecom providers and other organisations can also verify whether an identity document has been reported lost, stolen or invalid through the CheckDoc system, which was consulted more than 4.38 million times in 2025, reflecting growing use of the fraud prevention tool.
