A man created 46 bank accounts in other people’s names using deepfake technology to bypass face recognition software, a court has been told.

The Dutch man used doctored images of his own face to deceive ABN AMRO’s identity check mechanism, which asks applicants to submit photo ID such as a passport or identity card and verify it by taking a selfie.

Some of the identity documents were obtained from social media, while others were sent in response to an advert for a flat in Amsterdam that was listed for rent on Marktplaats, a private sales website.

When potential bidders inquired about the apartment, they were asked to send a copy of their identity documents for verification.

The fraud came to light when one of the applications used a woman’s photo ID but the accompanying selfie showed the face of a man.

ABN AMRO began an investigation that exposed the “extensive fraud”, prosecutors told the district court in Amsterdam.

The man is facing a 30-month jail sentence for fraud, forging documents and using stolen personal details.

He told the court he had no knowledge of the deepfakes, even though several of the photographs and documents were found on his phone and he had transferred money to some of the accounts.

He claimed he had taken photographs of himself on his computer as part of a job that involved making AI-generated TikTok videos at home. The images were generated by another person who took over his computer remotely, he said.

When asked how the original photographs came to be on his phone, he replied: “Maybe via links on Telegram”.

Prosecutors have asked the court to impose a 30-month prison sentence, six months of which would be suspended, and order the man to pay €6,240 in compensation to the bank. The court is expected to pronounce judgment on March 31.