Warning: Fake clone IAF CertSearch website published
Deutsche Akkreditierungsstelle (DAkkS) warns of a scam involving a fake version of the IAF CertSearch database.
DAkkS had already warned about the risks associated with the voluntary use of the IAF CertSearch database in the official note of 15 November 2024.
Go to the official note “No obligation to use the IAF CertSearch database”
It has now been revealed that IAF has not registered similar names or misspellings of its URL and has thus failed to protect the IAF CertSearch database against fraud as a preventative measure. This failure has allowed fraudsters to create a fake database that is almost indistinguishable from the original.
The article with all the details of Oxbridge's research on this case is available on the Oxebridge website.
Scammers Created Fake IAF CertSearch Website Clone
Unfortunately, this is not an individual case. Recently, the name of the planned new international accreditation organisation ‘GLOBAC’ was also not protected in time. This created a risk of fraud from the outset. These incidents are very unfortunate and undermine seriously the trust in the new organisation.
Read the official press release from 12 March 2025 to learn more about the position of DAkkS on GLOBAC.
Go to the official press release “German Accreditation Council: No accession for Germany to GLOBAC”
The digital accreditation symbol as a tamper-proof alternative to the ‘web database’ technology
A ‘web database’ is a complicated and outdated technology that cannot be used for modern integrated industrial processes because decentralised validation at the certificate level is not possible. In particular, a database itself cannot protect the certificates from forgery. In practice, this is the biggest problem.
To solve this problem, DAkkS has developed the digital accreditation symbol. Conformity assessment bodies accredited by DAkkS can easily protect the authenticity and the accreditation status of their certificates or other confirmations (‘eAttestations’) by using the digital accreditation symbol and confirm them in a legally secure, machine-readable way. The digital accreditation symbol also protects eAttestations from unauthorised changes by third parties. This future-proof technology is established worldwide and has also been confirmed by interoperability tests with third countries.
Further Information
Susanne Kuch, M.A.
Digitisation Policy in Quality Infrastructure | Staff Unit Accreditation Governance, Research and Innovation
