We live in an information age where data is the new currency. But as with collectible coins, not all data is equally important. For example, the value of a 1974 Kennedy half dollar value is less than thousands of dollars on its own, but if the coin is perfectly preserved, has a rare minting error or unusual provenance, its value can increase tenfold. Similarly with your personal data: at first glance they may seem trivial, but in certain, deft and not always honest hands of fraudsters they become a valuable resource.
Darknet is a kind of underground market where you can find and buy anything your soul desires, from information to rare collectibles, etc. When it comes to information, data can mean simple lists of phone numbers or sometimes complete dossiers with passwords, addresses, and even financial data. So how does personal data end up on the darknet and how can you protect yourself from it? So, today we would like to talk about it in more detail.
Data Flows in the Darknet
Modern smartphones are veritable repositories of personal information, they know everything about you – where you were yesterday, what you had for lunch today, and everything from phone numbers to financial transactions. But what happens when that information falls into the wrong hands? Darknet is a shadow market where millions of stolen data, including yours, are sold every day. Moreover, the more information about a person can be collected, the higher its value for fraudsters.
Personal data: Name, Email, Phone Number
Every day, millions of records with personal information end up on the darknet. Your name, email and phone number may already be in a database sold by hackers for just a couple of dollars. The only way to find out is through suspicious email activity or calls from scammers.
In 2021, the data of 533 million Facebook users, including phone numbers, email and geolocation, leaked. How does your data get to scammers?
- Service hacks – Facebook, LinkedIn, Yahoo, etc. have been attacked, causing millions of users to lose data.
- Phishing – you receive an email purportedly from your bank or favorite store asking you to confirm your account or enter your password. As soon as you do, your data is instantly transferred to the attackers.
- Website leaks – small online stores and forums often have weak security systems, making their databases easy to hack.
Geolocation and Travel Routes
Your smartphone constantly detects and can transmit your location. And this information is available not just to you, but also to dozens of applications that you have installed. So, in 2022, journalists found out that even popular applications, such as Uber and some weather services, transfer or sell data about users’ location to third parties. What does this mean? Your movements can be tracked by advertisers, corporations and, in the worst case scenario, malicious actors.
Geolocation data helps fraudsters build your “digital portrait” and even predict your behavior. For example, your phone records which Wi-Fi networks you use, which gives insight into where you live and work; apps analyze your routes, knowing where you go most often. And it is this data that can be used for surveillance or identity theft.
Financial Information: Cards, Passwords, Accounts
Financial data is the tastiest prey for cybercriminals. Credit cards, bank accounts, and online banking passwords are all actively traded on underground forums. Stolen bank cards can cost from 10 to 50 dollars a piece, but if the attackers also have the owner’s data along with the card, the price can increase many times over.
How is financial data stolen? Attackers use ATM skimmers, fake banking apps and fake online stores. Often users do not even realize that their data has already been stolen. Fraudsters can sleep for months without using the stolen information immediately, and then suddenly charge a large sum of money.
What Exactly Are Sold on the Darknet?
The Darknet is not just a hidden segment of the Internet, but a veritable shadow market where anything of value is for sale to scammers, hackers and even regular users looking for illegal ways to circumvent the system. It is a place where digital information becomes a product, and criminals find clients for a wide variety of services.
Thus, not only stolen data, but also fake collectibles, including rare coins, can be found on the darknet. For example, some fraudsters sell fakes of historical coins, passing them off as originals. To avoid buying fakes, collectors should check the authenticity of their finds using specialized applications such as Coin ID Scanner.
Other things for sale on the darknet
| Category | What are they selling? | How do criminals use it? |
| Forged documents | Fake passports, driver’s licenses, visas, vaccination certificates | Use it to defraud banks, cross borders, apply for loans |
| Fraudulent schemes | Guide to scamming banks, insurance companies, online stores. | They use it to create fake refunds, illegal cashbacks, bypass checks |
| Malware | Keyloggers, Trojans, ransomware, botnets. | Hack into devices, spy, steal data and money. |
| Drugs and Illegal substances | All kinds of drugs, over-the-counter prescription drugs. | Make illegal sales, send through the mail with fake data |
| Weapons and ammunition | Firearms, knives, explosives, silencers. | Use for criminal purposes, illegal operations |
| Cryptocurrency and money laundering | Stolen cryptocurrency wallets, bitcoin cash-out schemes, NFT cash-in schemes. | Launder money, hide the origin of illegal income |
Protect Your Data Right: What You Need to Consider
It is impossible to completely eliminate the risk of data leakage, but it is quite realistic to minimize the threat. To do this, it is important to follow a few simple but effective rules. They will help you protect your personal information from leaks, fraudsters and surveillance.
Remember the first rule – a minimum of personal information on the network. Do not publish in the public domain phone number, address and other personal data and do not neglect to set up privacy settings on social networks to limit the number of people who have access to your information. Use temporary email addresses when registering on questionable sites.
Secure your devices. Don’t forget to update your operating system to close vulnerabilities. Also, choose and install an antivirus and VPN to protect against malware and snooping and use a password manager to store and generate complex passwords. And don’t forget to turn off geolocation in apps if you don’t need it.
Think about your financial security too. Enable two-factor authentication to protect your accounts. Don’t enter bank card details on suspicious sites and check for “https” in URLs. Also, monitor bank statements regularly and use virtual cards for online purchases.
Protect yourself from phishing and data breaches. Don’t click on suspicious links from emails and messages. Check if your passwords have leaked through special services. Use different passwords for each service to avoid mass hacking.
Data Protection Is Your Responsibility
The information we leave online can be more valuable than we realize. And here you need to remember that protecting personal data is not just a security issue but a necessity. All you need here is to just follow simple and effective protection measures to significantly reduce the risks of leaks and theft. So, start with the basic steps today and rest assured that your data is safe.
