Dark Web 101: What Your Data Is Worth and Who’s Buying It
mayo 24 2025
Para particulares
Introduction
Your personal information is being sold right now.
Not maybe. Not “if you’re unlucky.”
Right now. On the dark web. To the highest bidder.
And you probably have no idea it’s happening.
Let’s talk about what your data is actually worth, who’s buying it, what they’re doing with it, and most importantly—how to find out if you’re already compromised.
What Is the Dark Web? (And Why It Matters to You)
The internet has three layers:
1. Surface Web (What you see every day)
Google-indexed websites
Social media platforms
News sites and e-commerce
About 4% of the total internet
2. Deep Web (Private but not illegal)
Password-protected content
Private databases
Medical records
Banking systems
About 90% of the internet
3. Dark Web (Anonymous and often illegal)
Requires special software (like Tor) to access
Anonymous marketplaces
Where stolen data is bought and sold
About 6% of the internet
The dark web isn’t inherently evil. It was designed for privacy and anonymity (useful for journalists, activists, whistleblowers).
But anonymity attracts criminals. And the dark web has become the world’s largest black market for stolen data.
The Dark Web Marketplace Economy
Think of the dark web like eBay—but for stolen data and illegal services.
It’s not some mysterious, chaotic underground. It’s a structured marketplace with:
Product listings and pricing
Seller ratings and reviews
Escrow services
Customer support
Quality guarantees
Refund policies
Seriously. Cybercriminals have better customer service than some legitimate businesses.
What Your Data Is Worth (The Price List)
Let’s talk real numbers. Here’s what your information sells for on dark web marketplaces:
Personal Identifiable Information (PII)
Data Type
Price Range
Buyer’s Use
Full Identity Package (SSN, DOB, name, address)
$30 – $150
Identity theft, tax fraud, loan applications
Social Security Number (US)
$1 – $8
Tax fraud, credit applications
Driver’s License Scan
$20 – $35
Identity verification, fake IDs
Passport Scan
$15 – $35
International fraud, border crossing
Birth Certificate
$10 – $20
Identity creation
Financial Data
Data Type
Price Range
Buyer’s Use
Credit Card with CVV
$5 – $110 (depending on balance/limit)
Fraudulent purchases
Bank Account Login
$65 – $190
Direct theft, money laundering
PayPal Account (verified)
$10 – $340
Money transfers, purchases
Cryptocurrency Wallet
10% – 20% of balance
Direct theft
Online Banking with $2K+ balance
$120 – $240
Wire transfers, bill pay fraud
Digital Accounts
Data Type
Price Range
Buyer’s Use
Email Account
$2 – $120
Password resets, phishing, data mining
Social Media Account
$45 – $65
Impersonation, scams, bot networks
Netflix/Streaming Account
$0.50 – $3
Resale, personal use
Amazon Prime Account
$8 – $15
Fraudulent purchases
Corporate Email Access
$500 – $3,000
Corporate espionage, BEC attacks
Medical Records
Data Type
Price Range
Buyer’s Use
Medical Records (full)
$250 – $1,000
Insurance fraud, prescription fraud
Health Insurance Details
$20 – $50
Medical identity theft
Prescription Information
$15 – $25
Drug acquisition
High-Value Targets
Data Type
Price Range
Buyer’s Use
Corporate Credentials
$500 – $120,000+
Ransomware, corporate espionage
Government Employee Data
$1,000 – $8,000
Espionage, blackmail
C-Suite Executive PII
$1,000 – $5,000+
Spear phishing, business email compromise
Zero-Day Exploit
$100,000 – $1,000,000+
Advanced persistent threats
Who’s Buying Your Data?
Not just random hackers in basements. The dark web serves diverse criminal enterprises:
1. Professional Identity Theft Rings
Organized crime groups operating identity theft at industrial scale. They buy in bulk, commit fraud systematically, and launder proceeds through complex networks.
2. Ransomware Operators
Need corporate credentials to infiltrate networks. Your employer’s data is their entry point.
3. State-Sponsored Actors
Foreign intelligence services buying data for espionage, political manipulation, or competitive advantage.
4. Rival Companies
Corporate espionage is real. Your trade secrets and business intelligence have buyers.
5. Scammers and Phishers
Need real data to make their scams convincing. Your information validates their fake identities.
6. Individual Opportunists
Amateur criminals buying cheap data to commit low-level fraud. Still ruins your credit.
7. Data Brokers
Aggregating stolen data into comprehensive profiles to resell at higher prices. Building detailed dossiers on millions.
How Your Data Ends Up on the Dark Web
You didn’t put it there. So how did it get there?
The Top 5 Data Sources:
1. Corporate Data Breaches (75% of dark web data) When major companies get breached, millions of records flood the market:
Yahoo: 3 billion accounts
Marriott: 500 million guests
Equifax: 147 million people
LinkedIn: 700 million users
Facebook: 533 million users
You didn’t do anything wrong. The company you trusted did.
2. Credential Harvesting (Phishing and Malware)
Fake login pages steal credentials
Keyloggers record everything you type
Malware extracts saved passwords
Phishing emails trick you into revealing data
3. Database Vulnerabilities
Misconfigured databases exposed to internet
SQL injection attacks
Unpatched security flaws
Insider threats (employees selling data)
4. Third-Party Breaches
Your data is in 100+ company databases
You control zero of them
When any one gets breached, your data leaks
Chain reaction across interconnected systems
5. Social Media Scraping
Public profile information harvested en masse
Combined with other data sources
Built into comprehensive identity profiles
Sold as “marketing data” or “lead lists”
The Scary Part: You’re Probably Already There
If you’ve had an account with any of these breached companies, your data is likely on the dark web:
Yahoo
LinkedIn
Facebook/Meta
Adobe
Marriott
Equifax
Target
Home Depot
Anthem Health
JP Morgan Chase
Sony
Uber
Twitter/X
Dropbox
MyFitnessPal
Canva
…and hundreds more
Check: haveibeenpwned.com (enter your email to see known breaches)
What Happens Once Your Data Is Out There
Bad news: You can’t put it back.
Once data is on the dark web:
It’s copied and shared infinitely
It gets bundled with other data
It’s sold and resold repeatedly
It never expires or disappears
It gets more valuable over time as databases grow
Your compromised data from a 2015 breach is still being used in 2025 attacks.
How to Find Out If Your Data Is Compromised
Free Tools:
1. Have I Been Pwned (haveibeenpwned.com)
Enter your email to check known breaches
Free and reputable
Covers most major breaches
2. Google Password Checkup
Checks saved passwords against breach databases
Built into Chrome
3. Firefox Monitor (monitor.firefox.com)
Similar to HIBP
Ongoing monitoring available
Comprehensive Dark Web Monitoring:
Professional services (like Arestech) actively scan dark web marketplaces, forums, and databases for:
Your personal information
Family members’ data
Corporate credentials
Financial accounts
Medical records
Everything being sold about you
You get real-time alerts when new data appears.
What to Do If Your Data Is on the Dark Web
Step 1: Don’t Panic (But Take It Seriously)
Your data being on the dark web doesn’t mean you’re automatically compromised. But it means you’re vulnerable.
Step 2: Change Every Password Immediately
Use unique passwords for every account
Use a password manager
Enable two-factor authentication everywhere
Prioritize: banking, email, corporate accounts
Step 3: Monitor Your Financial Accounts
Check bank statements weekly
Review credit card charges daily
Set up fraud alerts
Consider credit freezes
Step 4: Get Credit Monitoring
Sign up for credit monitoring services
Place fraud alerts on credit reports
Check credit reports from all three bureaus
Consider credit freeze (free and effective)
Step 5: Watch for Identity Theft Red Flags
Unexpected bills or collections
Medical claims you didn’t make
Tax return problems
Denied credit applications
Calls about accounts you didn’t open
Step 6: Ongoing Dark Web Monitoring
Don’t check once and forget. New data appears constantly.
Professional monitoring catches new exposures before they’re exploited.
The Depressing Reality
Here’s the truth: You can’t prevent your data from ending up on the dark web.
You don’t control:
Every company that has your data
Their security practices
Their employees’ behavior
Third-party vendors they use
When breaches occur
What you CAN control:
How quickly you discover exposure
How fast you respond
What protective measures you implement
Whether criminals can actually use your data
Find Out What’s Out There About You
Arestech provides comprehensive dark web monitoring as part of our Privacy & Reputation Management module.
We scan:
Dark web marketplaces
Criminal forums
Paste sites
Breach databases
Private data dumps
Because you can’t protect what you don’t know is compromised.
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