If your identity is stolen, there's a good chance the hacker will sell off your information rather than use it him or herself. Reviews.org gleaned data from the FBI and the Top 10 VPN List and released it in a report showing how much your data is worth on the Dark Web.
The Dark Web is a portion of the World Wide Web that is only accessible by specific software and allows operators to remain anonymous.
There are websites on the Dark Web that exclusively deal with the buying and selling of stolen identities. Below are a few of the higher dollar "products" available:
- Bank account details - $259.56
- Debit card numbers - $250.05
- PayPal credentials - $42.38
- Credit card numbers - $33.88 - less than debit cards because of the nature of ID protection on many credit cards.
- Driver's License information - $27.62
- Gmail credentials - $5.87
- Amazon login information - $30.36
- Facebook login information - $9.12
- Apple credentials - $11.36
Here are 3 thing you can do to protect yourself, employees, and company:
- Never use the same password twice. Instead get a password manager to keep and manage your passwords.
- Enable multi-factor authentication for all company and private accounts. Be certain to enable it on your password manager as well.
- Educate yourself on how to spot phishing, vishing (voice-phishing), and smishing (text-phishing) schemes.
When you take precautionary measures to protect your data, many cybercriminals will bypass your information in search of an easier target.