The Darknet has always been that very ideal place where you can sell any stolen data, which is later used for various illegal activities (for example, fraud) or helps to maintain anonymity to various ordinary people.
The first glimpses of the darknet drew themselves back in 2013, when the well-known Silk Road appeared. However, it should be noted that the site was distinguished by the fact that it was impossible to trade stolen data of bank card holders, scanned documents and other data on it. Although, it is a very popular product that can be categorized as high demand on the dark web.
Often, stolen data can be found on sites such as Dream Market or Wall Street Market. Typically, these are the following products: passport scans, social security numbers, driver's licenses, credit or debit card details - everything that can be collected from other people's mailboxes or correspondence on social networks. Typically, 90% of data owners do not even know that they have been compromised.
The funny thing is that to gain access to the darknet, you just need to download the Tor browser and launch it. As in the case of drug markets, the sale of such a product through the dark network greatly complicates the task of law enforcement. sellers use modern data encryption methods, onion routing, and in general are technologically savvy characters. (approx. Pavluu - many, but not all).
For example, if you take the same carding. This area of cybercrime has developed so much in recent years that it is easy to buy the data of bank card holders, and companies such as PayPal record hundreds of thousands of cases of theft of their customers' data every year.
Acquisition process and multisignature
As it has already become clear to many, sellers of documents and various personal data work 24/7 on many darknet markets and carding forums. According to studies measuring the value of data sold on shady marketplaces, any merchant with a large database of cardholders can sell one card for $ 20-40.How does it all happen?
In order to get a clear understanding of the business, let's take a look at the process common in most markets and forums.
1) Need. Someone needs to steal personal data for their further use. For example, they want to make an authorized Yandex money wallet and drive black money through it.
2) Specification of the need. It is determined what type of data is needed: a license or a bank card? Or maybe something more interesting? For example, for a wallet poison, you need a scan of your passport + TIN (ideal)
3) Search for a site. Selection of the most suitable market (based on reviews, price / quality ratio and other criteria) and the seller on this market.
4) Making a purchase. Purchase and confirmation of receipt of data. Confirmation of trades by multisignature.
Of course, you also need to register at most markets or forums. However, as with most dark web sites, just a pseudonym, password and captcha are enough for full registration. Do not forget that all payments are made in Bitcoin or Monero, so it is better to stock up on currency in advance before the transaction, so as not to pay the platform to the exchanger and wait for a bunch of confirmations.
It is worth remembering that most dark web sites (for example, Wall Street Market) have some functions to protect both the buyer and the seller from fraud and loss of their money.
N For example, the multi-signature mechanism. What is it?
In other words, if any condition that does not suit the buyer (or seller) cannot be canceled or changed, it can instantly turn into a reason for rejecting the transaction.
According to research by Dark Web News, Dream Market - being one of the largest dark web markets - offers a wide range of personal data, from fake national IDs, passports and driver's licenses to various IDs, bank cards, and more.
All the information you need to get a fake passport is the personal data you want to see on it. This may include a name, photograph, and other identifying information that will be included in the final copy. Once done correctly, it is the customer's responsibility to verify that the product meets the requirements before completing the transaction and releasing funds from escrow - a temporary "freeze" of funds provided by the multisignature mechanism.
On the other hand, when buying digital goods, such as credit card information, including CVV, fullz and bank accounts, the multi-signature mechanism somewhat stretches the transaction over time, because you still need to check the validity of the data you buy, and it is impossible to do this every second. For example, to check CVV, you need to try to drive in a product or pay for some service on the Internet.
Fate and aftermath
Cybercriminals have found a loophole where they can use stolen data and make good money on it. Of course, this "loophole" is the darknet. Nowadays, there simply are no people who want to meet with you offline to discuss the details of your passport or ID. A person from the street will not launder your black money either, and if it does, you better run from such a person.- According to a Cifas report , there were approximately 174,523 identity scams reported in 2017 in the UK alone. This is a new record for the British.
- If we talk about the United States, then in 2017 there were about 371,000 cases of identity theft. Although, this is even "progress", tk. last year's figure is 399,200 cases.
Many online banking systems require dialing code verification as part of two-factor authentication. This is the only reason why many criminals are looking for a way to connect to the system and, probably, cash out from accounts quietly and on the sly.
The acquisition of identity cards similar to those held by account holders is growing significantly from year to year. This is evidenced by PayPal statistics. In countries with high levels of online fraud, PayPal has faced so many problems that it has had to shut down most of its services for fear of constant fraud in these areas.
Other criminals have devised other methods of using stolen IDs. For example, in the United States, the topic of taking an online loan under someone else's passport is still working. Moreover, this type of fraud is gaining momentum.
Online scams have been on the rise this year, according to a 2017 report from Javelin. The potential damage is about $ 16,000,000. Their report also shows that in 2017 there were about 15-16 million victims whose personal data were stolen and sold, and then, accordingly, used.
Recommendations
Researchers at Javelin have come up with some security measures to combat identity theft, which is a real threat to modern society.These measures are quite simple:
1) Enable two-factor authentication. This is perhaps obvious. If scammers try to access your accounts and enter the wrong code, you will be notified. Also, multiple entering of the wrong code will block the account (Pavluu's note is about online banking.)
2) Protect your phone. Since criminals have realized that many transactions and data are stored in electronic devices such as mobile phones, they follow them. Protecting our mobile devices with screen locks, encrypting stored data and avoiding public Wi-Fi, setting local passcodes will all make it much harder to access your data.
3) Freeze account and account restrictions. Freeze your account after entering an incorrect password (many banks have this, but not all). For example, in Sberbank, accounting is blocked for 1 hour by default.
To protect consumers from online theft, financial advisors advocate that every credit card holder restricts their online transactions. In addition to this, he must use the Verified by Visa system or a secure MasterCard code.
These and many other best practices will dramatically reduce the incidence of identity theft and fraud, but that doesn't mean you need to relax and let your guard down. Be attentive to sites that ask you for data. Use secure methods of communication to transfer personal data, but if you have already used mail - at least just delete it from the Sent folder. Change your passwords periodically, do not open dubious files and you will be happy.
