Dark Web Price Index 2022

Important Operations Changes

As the Dark Web market matures, the folks who run it use features and assume priorities that resemble conventional marketing and retail operations methods.

In the 2021-2022 reporting period, notable changes in Dark Web operations included:

• A new market leader. Before October 2021, buyers tended to use more established sites, which offered more security features and emphasized customer service. White House Market was the clear leader as the most active site in this regime, hosting about a third of the market’s approximately 9,000 active vendors.

  In October, with little explanation, site administrators announced that they were closing the site, which shut down soon after the announcement. Although other sites, notably ToRReZ and the reconstituted AlphaBay, have moved to fill the gap, it’s impossible to identify a long-term market leader.

• Dark Web security ops. The Dark Web might have become more secure and efficient, but law enforcement security specialists have become more skillful. To avoid detection and tracking by law enforcement agencies, Dark Web sites now use more—and more sophisticated—security measures throughout Dark Web transactions.
  Last year, Monero cryptocurrency replaced Bitcoin as payment, and pretty good privacy (PGP) encryption methods ruled the day. These security tools still reign supreme.
• Parallel market and services. These days, Dark Web sites compete on their security and customer service quality. So, it’s no surprise they now use traditional marketing tactics, too. Discounts (Buy 2 cloned credit cards, get one free), coupons, and product reviews are becoming common sights on the most competitive sites.

Here is a profile of a Dark Web vendor, one of nearly 2 million total vendors (active and inactive), who sell stolen, hacked, or bogus data and documents on the Dark Web’s 32 data product sites. Notice that this active vendor has accumulated more than 1,280 sales.

Here’s another snapshot of a vendor profile to further illustrate how this marketplace is thriving. Notice how it normalizes fake data buying by including buyer ratings and comments.

Next, we dive into the detailed trends for eight categories of fake, hacked, or stolen data and physical documents.

2022 Dark Web Product Price Index

As in our earlier reports, our data collection methods include scanning dark web marketplaces, forums, and websites. We process this information to create an index of average prices for a wide variety of specific products.

Cloned Credit Cards and Cardholder Data

In December 2021, approximately 4.5 million credit cards went up on the Dark Web.

The average price for credit card details ranges from $1 (in the U.S., Canada, and Australia) to $ 20 each (in Hong Kong). However, as the table below shows, the general trend for these items was down.

Here’s a screenshot of stolen credit cards sold on the dark web:

Payment Processing Services

As retailers accept mobile payments and other forms of online payment, payment processors have become increasingly common. The value of a hacked account will fluctuate because these entities vary in cybersecurity capabilities and insurance.

PayPal account details are easily the most abundant items listed on the Dark Web marketplace.

Given the laws of supply and demand, it’s no surprise that they are extremely inexpensive to buy. (The more expensive option would be transferred from a hacked account.)

Current prices

As you can see in the table below, processing account detail prices have dropped significantly in the past year due to the robust supply.

Guides to cashing out these transfers without alerting the authorities often accompany the purchase of payment processing accounts, another commonly listed item. These guides sell for cents on the dollar.

However, whether they work and keep buyers out of trouble remains unclear.

New payment processing services

Our price index grew with the addition of nine payment processing services.

Hacked Cryptocurrency Accounts

And here are our current crypto account listings for the current reporting period (2021-2022).

The hefty losses in value reflect jitters in traditional markets.

Although crypto and mainstream investments remained separate for many years, recent events coupled them.

So, investor uncertainty in stock and bond markets, for example, also showed up in the crypto markets. And Bitcoin being deposed as the currency of choice on the Dark Web shattered confidence in the BTC-based value of its offerings.

Nevertheless, three new cryptocurrency-based products debuted on the Dark Web this year.

Hacked Online Services & Entertainment Accounts

Do you need proof that cybercriminals have developed a taste for a huge variety of Dark Web data offerings?

If so, look no further than hacked social media accounts. Vendors even sell access to paid online subscription services at lower prices—if customers are willing to take the risk of discovery.

However, as you can see by the tepid prices, only Uber-related accounts increased in value.

Everything else, to a use a popular term, languished.

People generally buy these accounts due to content restrictions on their own accounts. The hacked accounts may be from country that has a bigger streaming site library than their own. This is kinda weird because people can use a VPN to unblock streaming sites. For example, you can have Netflix unblocked with a VPN.

We have a dedicated page precisely for finding the best VPN for Netflix. Go there to find more info about Netflix and VPN services.

Here’s a look at some examples of various hacked online accounts being sold:

Forged Documents (Scans)

You can buy forgeries as physical documents or digital scans if you know where and how to look on the Dark Web.

These highly customizable items can be changed with any detail a buyer might want.

All it takes are a few pieces of genuine information and some skill. Voila! Criminals can create a portfolio of fake, official-looking documents.

Here’s a list of the going rates for these forgeries:

Counterfeit currency (mainly in 20- and 50-USD denominations) is an extremely popular and easily available item.

The most popular currencies include euros, the British pound, and dollars from Canada, Australia, and the United States.

Some of these bills come with a UV pen-test guarantee. Typically, these especially high-quality counterfeit banknotes cost buyers approximately 30 percent of their face value.

Document scans that include a selfie with the owner are another valuable purchase.

They can be used for SIM swap attacks and personal data access requests in California and the European Union. (In a SIM swap exploit, an attacker takes over the mobile phone number of the real subscriber by asking the mobile telecom provider to link that number to a SIM card under the attacker’s control.)

Here are examples of fake digital documents being sold on the Dark Web.

Forged Documents (Physical)

Buyers can also obtain forged physical documents on the Dark Web. These are the highest-priced items on the Dark Web markets by far.

These are examples of forged physical documents being sold on the Dark Web:

Drivers’ license examples:

Email Database Dumps

Easy availability and low accuracy make data from email dump notoriously cheap. Most email dumps are aggregations and collections of other email breaches, so the quality standards are common—we get what we pay for.

Malware

When installed on compromised systems that run on Microsoft Windows, Android, and other operating systems, malware gives hackers complete access to machine capabilities. These can hijack computer resources via ransomware or steal user or patient information.

Social networks and fake online casinos are two common and attractive ways of installing malware onto websites. It’s a good idea not to download anything from sites or sources you don’t know and trust.

The following table lists items by their current prices, national origin, and quality indicators.

Here’s a sample of malware listed on the Dark Web:

DDOS Attacks

A distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack disrupts the use of websites and other Internet assets by blocking users from internet products and services.

The malware targets websites by sending thousands of connection requests, which overloads and crashes the website’s server. No information is stolen through these attacks, but they can be used to extort ransoms or hide other hacking activities.

Note that the DDoS attacks offered below are described by the target, thousands of access requests, quality, speed, and duration. (DDoS attacks can last seconds or days. As you might expect, buyers get the results they pay for.)

As in most of the products listed this year, prices fell or barely held their value.

How to Protect Yourself from Identity Theft

There are many ways to get hacked but many ways to prevent it. You can discourage unwelcome visitors to your accounts at home or in the office by using these recommendations.

If identity theft is your major concern, use the following tips to reduce the chance of unwelcome visitors.

Avoid public or unsecured WiFi

If you’re in a coffee shop or anywhere else you don’t trust network security, use a virtual private network (VPN) to encrypt all communications. But if an attacker has access to an unencrypted network that you’re using, it’s easy to view your account data and steal or alter your information. Check out my guide to the best VPNs if you are interested in picking one. This might seem to be a hassle.

Use safe ATM practices

Your local ATM is the doorway to your valuable personal data. Here are some ways to prevent it from giving cybercrooks the “Open sesame!”

Check for ATM skimmers. Skimmers are devices placed over an ATM. They are often replicas of the card reader, but their wiring sends your card information to a hacker, not your bank. Check for ATM skimmers by:

• Pressing around the sides of the card slot. You’re looking for anything that feels loose. Skimmers are delicately mounted, so they’ll move when pressed with light pressure.
• Checking for glue or tape around the edges. If you see any sticky material, stay away from the ATM and call the bank.
• Stopping the transaction. If you have difficulty putting your card into the ATM, stop trying and report the situation to the bank.

Check for fake keypads. Fake keypads are sometimes placed over the legitimate ones to record your PIN. They’re also very loosely mounted. So, if the keypad jiggles around a bit, or if you notice the keypad is off-center, stop using it and contact the bank.

Keep your information private

ATMs are only one of many ways to reveal sensitive account information.

Don’t give sensitive information over the phone. Period. Even if the information is required for an important process such as signing up for Social Security or a new driver’s license. If possible, transfer the information in person.

Use anti-malware tools. Install anti-virus or other anti-malware software on your personal computer to check for malware. Then, make sure to set the update period to Automatic.

Practice Account and Password Hygiene

Anywhere you store personal data is a potential entry point for cyberattackers. Here are some ways to prevent illegal entry into your data stores.

• Avoid using the same password for multiple accounts. This is the easiest way for an attacker to access your accounts. When a major list of account details is dumped on the dark web, your account details can be checked against other services such as email or banking, and you don’t want them to use the same password.
• Delete accounts you don’t use anymore. Cyberattackers can compromise old information or use it in password resets or similar attacks. This is especially risky if you reuse passwords on multiple accounts.

Use a password manager. Software such as LastPass or Keepass can make it easy to use extra-strength passwords for all your accounts. (All you need is to remember a master password.) Better yet, many are free.

Rules, rules, rules! These guidelines might seem to be complicated, a real pain.

However, when you get used to following them, they’ll become second nature. That’s when you develop a sense of vital cybersecurity online and in daily life.

Why This Data is Important

You might be wondering what all these (admittedly nerdy) details mean to you. It’s true, Dark Web market data might not provide most people with useful insights.

However, the overall message should be clear. Your data is valuable to cybercrooks, and it doesn’t cost much to steal your identity or otherwise exploit you.

The sheer quantity of data available for purchase has created a bulk sales mentality for Dark Web customers.

The sad truth is that the growing supply of personal information on the Dark Web makes it cheaper—and therefore more likely—that your accounts will be hacked.

So, the chance of your getting hacked is unpredictable but growing unless you protect yourself.

Adopting a few simple rules and habits will make it harder for hackers to get your data and easier for you to get out of their crosshairs.

2023 Update and Summary:
The Dark Web data market has continued to grow in size and variety, with prices for information products dropping as supply increases.

As demand for security and customer service quality rises, Dark Web sites are adopting traditional marketing tactics such as discounts, coupons, and product reviews.

To protect oneself from identity theft, it is recommended to use the best VPNs to encrypt communications, practice safe ATM habits, maintain account and password hygiene, and avoid public or unsecured Wi-Fi.

Despite the increased availability of personal information on the Dark Web, individuals can still take measures to reduce the risk of being hacked.

Adopting simple rules and habits, such as using different passwords for different accounts and employing a password manager, can help keep personal data out of the reach of cybercriminals.