You must have heard the name Dark Web all
the time and have many ideas about this site. And you've probably also heard
that hackers can sell or buy a variety of data on the dark web.
Although the Dark Web is a safe and active
marketplace for buying and selling illegal products, did you know that the Dark
Web accounts are sold to various individuals? Our used accounts are a valuable
asset or a valuable commodity. Hackers can and do take control of various
people's accounts and sell them on the dark web.
Let's take a look at some of
these accounts sold on the dark web.
1. Financial and Personal Accounts
Private and financial accounts are widely
sold on the dark web. And this information can be used to steal your identity
or extort money from you. Hence, they are a hot commodity among hackers.
For example, hackers buy your personal
account from the dark web. And they can use them to gain access to your credit
card information or PayPal account, and sell it on the dark web. In this case,
they don't take any risk, but transfer the money to a bigger hacker than them.
And, this is basically how hackers use the dark web to scam money. However,
hacking various financial accounts and selling them on the Dark Web is one of
their favorites.
2. Email accounts for malicious use
According to data from LogDog, each email
account on the dark web sells for about 0.70 to 1.20 cents. These email
accounts include accounts from major email service providers such as Yahoo and
Gmail. A hacker can do a lot with an email account. From using it to collect
personal information, it can be used as part of a botnet.
And so, hackers take control of a large
number of users' email accounts with various phishing links or other means and
sell them on the dark web. Email accounts account for a large portion of the
accounts sold on the Dark Web.
3. Dating profile
Hackers are always looking to take control
of your dating site account. A few years ago, a company called Adware reported
how hackers had sold 27 million accounts from a dating site called Mate1.
Hacker's behavior may seem strange to you.
But think about the personal information used in all those dating accounts.
Hackers can use all that account information to create an accurate profile of
that user and use it to attack other accounts. Also, they may use this
information for other purposes as well.
If they can't do that, they can use that
account to talk to people associated with your account. In this case, those
hackers can pretend to ask your friends to borrow money on your behalf. And if
that hacker is skilled, he will definitely be able to extort money from people
you know.
Accounts of various dating sites are
heavily sold on the dark web. LogDog reports that eHarmony accounts sell for
around $10, making it the second most expensive account sold on their list.
4. Compromised Netflix account
If you have used a Netflix account to
watch videos, then you must know what kind of experience it can give us. In
most cases, many people want to access other people's accounts to use Netflix.
Many people want to use Netflix account for free and in this case they don't
like to pay monthly fee. Hackers are no different, in this case they get
control of your account, so of course they won't ask you for permission to
stream videos.
If a hacker gets access to your Netflix
account, they can use it to watch shows without paying. And, such Netflix
accounts are sold for just a few dollars, which is much less than Netflix's
monthly subscription. So, if you see something unusual in your Netflix
account's Viewing History, be sure to change the password.
5. Adult website account
Like other accounts, adult website
accounts are a hot commodity on the dark web. Adult sites charge a monthly
subscription fee to access their videos, and hackers try to take control of
legitimate customers' accounts.
Interestingly, an Adult account costs much
less. According to LogDog's report, such accounts sell for around a dollar,
half the price of a Netflix account. You can also call a dollar the price of a
Social Security on the dark web. It makes you realize how cheap hackers are
selling your stolen identity and how little your identity is worth. Which is
really amazing.
6. Using Airline Account for Free Flights
You must be
careful about your airline account.
7. PayPal Account Scraping
Hackers are interested in holding personal accounts of various
people and their accounts along with their other information. However, PayPal
accounts are no different. Because they have one more bonus point behind
hacking PayPal account, and that is PayPal account balance.
Whenever a hacker gains access to a PayPal account, they will
check to see if there is any money in it. And if it does, then they sell it on
the dark web. The price at which the account will be sold will depend on the
balance in the account.
Now a question may come in your mind that why hackers sell them
with balance on dark web instead of withdrawing money from all those PayPal
accounts? Sometimes, hackers don't like to risk at all. PayPal monitors their
transactions very strictly. And so, a skilled hacker is required to
successfully transfer funds from a PayPal account. And if not, he is likely to
get caught later.
In this case, if the hacker is not confident enough to transfer
the money from the account, he sells it to another competent person. And they
may choose the dark web as their first choice as a means of selling.
8. Hacking gaming accounts
It may sometimes seem strange to us that why would anyone pay
for gaming platforms that we can use for free or are free to use? Why would
someone buy them with money on the dark web?
Basically, such accounts can be created for free. However, you
can spend money on in-game items on such gaming platforms. And, some items
within those games are only available when the player overcomes a difficult
challenge. That is, he has to move forward by crossing many levels.
And, to unlock various features in online games, accounts need
to be updated or various items have to be purchased with Real Money. For
example, Battle Royal games are free, but you have to pay to unlock various
features inside the game. And their cost also varies depending on different
features. And that's why such accounts create a high demand on the dark web.
If a hacker gets hold of an account with various items, he can
save a lot of money. The more items that account has, the higher its value on
the dark web.
Hackers can also use these accounts with little items. And there
are many reports of hackers using various stolen credit card details to
purchase the in-game currency, V-Bucks. Then they sell such accounts.
For example, a hacker could use stolen credit card information
to buy $50 worth of V-Bucks and then sell them on the dark web for $20. In this
case the hackers clear their way and earn themselves $20, and those buyers get
a huge discount on the items.
Staying safe from the dark
web
People use the dark web to sell illegal products. However, it
also has a large market for trading different accounts. While your banking and
financial accounts are definitely a commodity, be sure to keep your other
accounts safe. Who knows how a hacker can use your accounts!
However, you should take steps now to secure all your accounts.
So that no hacker can take control of your account. And if they somehow take
control, they can sell it on the dark web. So, use Two Factor Authentication as
part of the security of every account you have online. This will give you
enough protection to keep every account safe.
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