Portugal’s Judiciary Police Director Calls for Standalone Digital Identity Theft Criminal Offence

Carlos Cabreiro, National Director of Portugal’s Judiciary Police (Polícia Judiciária), testified before the Portuguese Assembly of the Republic on May 6, 2026, calling for the creation of a specific criminal offence of digital identity theft to address the growing frequency of social media account takeovers. The testimony was delivered during specialized parliamentary proceedings reviewing a bill that limits minors’ access to online platforms.

Under current Portuguese law, digital identity theft is not in itself a criminal offence. Only downstream consequences, including computer forgery, defamation, or invasion of privacy, may constitute prosecutable crimes. Cabreiro, who formerly directed the National Cybercrime Unit before becoming National Director, argued this gap leaves law enforcement unable to pursue account usurpation directly. His proposal would create a standalone crime of digital identity theft, making unauthorized account takeovers directly prosecutable rather than requiring prosecutors to prove harm from secondary offences.

Cabreiro stated: “It is something that constantly concerns us in the assessment of people who come to the Judiciary Police and complain about the usurpation of their Facebook account, the usurpation of their LinkedIn account.” The Judiciary Police has received a steady flow of complaints from individuals whose Facebook and LinkedIn accounts have been seized by unauthorized parties.

Portugal, which has invested in advanced biometric border control systems at its airports and seaports, is now confronting the enforcement side of digital identity with a proposed new criminal offence. The proposal echoes legislative efforts to close digital identity fraud gaps seen in the United States, where a bipartisan House bill sought new federal anti-fraud coordination in early 2026.

The parliamentary context for Cabreiro’s testimony was the specialized review of a PSD bill approved on first reading on February 12, 2026. That bill requires users to be at least 16 years old to access social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook; users aged 13 to 16 may access platforms only with express and verified parental consent.

Cabreiro’s call for standalone criminal liability arrives as new data underscores the growing scale of synthetic identity fraud globally, with synthetic fraud now accounting for 11 percent of all fraud incidents. Cabreiro’s call was made in a parliamentary review context rather than as a formal legislative draft.

Sources: The Portugal News, CMS Law, ICLG