Whether it’s names, social security numbers, financial information, medical documentation, or other personal data, there’s an awful lot about each person that can be used illegally and turned into profit. The reality is that personal information is regularly traded around as datasets. How else are you going to get relevant advertising on YouTube?
Murky Underbelly
It’s not quite as dystopian as it sounds. Most of us are content to have our essence distilled to a resume (for example) as long as the process benefits us in the end. The worry is that, in the wrong hands, our information can be used against us. An ExpressVPN blog piece claims that social media and streaming accounts are two of the most affordable datasets for sale on the dark web, the internet’s murky underbelly.
Source: Pexels
On the opposite side of the scale, passports earn the king’s ransom of crooked cash simply because they provide a gateway to a person’s entire identity and/or cross-border travel. An article on the subject from Harvard Business Review claims that even businesses can end up held for ransom on the dark web. This is often the result of something called spearphishing, a cyberattack involving the impersonation of a high-ranking employee.
ExpressVPN compiled a Dark Web Price Index for 2023 that outlined the value of certain pieces of information to dark web criminals. Credit cards begin at $20-$30, while cryptocurrency site logins can go for up to $600 (Coinbase). PayPal, Stripe, CashApp, and Western Union accounts also fetch a high price. A Stripe login with a linked bank account could net somebody $1,000.
Supply and Demand
Just like in any other marketplace, supply, and demand control prices on the dark web. The most valuable passports come from EU residents, closely followed by non-EU countries in Europe, like Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Oddly enough, despite its powerful influence on the global economy, US passports are only worth a fraction of an EU passport, possibly due to its low Quality Of Life Index (39th worldwide).
Source: Pexels
Enterprising criminals may also sell the means to exploit web users on the dark web, providing off-the-shelf scam pages, hacking tutorials, and phishing software. These can be crafted to steal niche commodities like video game currency and Bitcoin or made to fool web users into doing something they otherwise would not, like giving up their passwords or downloading malicious software.
Overall, the average digital identity (1-2 credit cards, a PayPal account, a few streaming services and social media accounts, etc) is likely to bring in around $4,000 on the dark web. Surprisingly, the Invisibly website claims that an individual’s physical characteristics can play a role in setting prices. Male data is the most valuable, for instance, simply because there are more women than men in the world (48.6% to 51.4%).
So, how can anybody hope to evade the sale of their data on the dark web? The answer is always the same – password hygiene. Ditch the birthdays and pet names for something a little more secure.
Write and Win: Participate in Creative writing Contest & International Essay Contest and win fabulous prizes.
