DARK WEB IDENTITY THEFT
I have always believed that freedom is something that money cannot buy. Nor is freedom something that can be taken away – unless you’re a criminal, of course. But that’s exactly what cybercriminals on the Dark Web are doing – potentially taking away your freedom for a price. The price? Not very much, I’m sorry to say. Here’s why you could lose your freedom to Dark Web identity theft.
TRANSITION TO THE DIGITAL WORLD
Before the days of CVID-19, we were witnessing a massive increase in cybercriminal activity on the internet. With almost everything going digital, there has been a prevalent influx of people going online, for work and play. Every time you open a web-based account, for payments, social interaction, playing games – almost everything – you give away a piece of yourself. Your identity. Brian Riley, Director of Credit Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group, explains:
“Technology makes our life more comfortable, but it brings risk. Identity theft is a perfect example. As we open doors for e-commerce and online banking, new opportunities for criminals come simultaneously.”
DARK WEB PRICE DROP
A decade ago you may have worried that a hacker would steal your email address or random login credentials to an insecure site. This still happens, but nowadays identity theft operated on a colossal scale. Dark web hackers want everything, your entire identity. The huge amount of identification data on the Web means 2 two things – a surge in identity fraud and a drop in the cost of stolen information.
WHAT IS MY ASKING PRICE?
You just how much is your identity worth when it is put up for sale on the Dark Web? Truth be told, not that much by today’s standards. Privacy Affairs has published a Dark Web Price Index 2021. Here are some stats from the report showing you just how cheap identity is.
| Category | Product | Average Dark Web Price (USD) |
| Credit Card Data | Credit card details with PIN, account balance up to $5,000 | $240 |
| UK hacked credit card details with CVV | $20 | |
| Payments | Stolen PayPal account details, minimum $1,000 | $120 |
| Social Media | Hacked Facebook account | $65 |
| Hacked Services | Netflix | $44 |
| Uber | $8 | |
| eBay account with a good reputation | $1,000 | |
| Forged documents | EU identity card | $400 |
| European Union passport | $4,000 |
15 BILLION LOGIN CREDENTIALS STOLEN
As reported in Forbes in July 2020, an audit of the Dark Web reveals that 15 billion login credentials from 100,000 breaches have been stolen. If that’s not scary enough, then these words from Brian Riley should be fair warning:
“When you tie several of these items together, you have more than just access to personal financial data. You have the ability to create a synthetic identity that can not only disrupt the life of the victim but challenge the irrefutability of the payment network.”