Report: Darknet Business is Booming

11/27/2023Darknet News

According to BDO’s most recent Scam Culture Report, there is a surge in activity on the dark web due to an increase in users and social media accounts that may be purchased.

According to data from the September quarter, 2.7 million people accessed the dark web daily, which is 200,000 more than during the same period in the previous year. The most popular items traded on the dark web were fake IDs, passwords, and intellectual property, as well as credit ratings, credit cards, and counterfeit passports.

With almost 10,000 ChatGPT accounts now available, BDO stated that trading in these accounts should be closely monitored.

According to the report, prices on the dark web varied a lot over that time, with accounts on Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Telegram available for about $310 each, up from $119 in the June quarter. Covid immunization certificates, which cost $119 in June as well, were being sold for $139 or $123 in digital format.

The cost of account hacking has also increased; an email breach now costs $668, up from $269, and a WeChat hack is now $154, up from $149.

Over the course of the quarter, there was a rise in the demand for identity documents from Germany, Italy, and France; nevertheless, the cost of Australian driver’s licenses decreased from $545 to $465, and the cost of passports (of various nationalities) decreased from $2,800 to $1,399.

The survey stated, “Traders and buyers are actively promoting communication to resolve issues and differences, leading to increased negotiation activity on the dark web.” Like any marketplace, the dark web relies heavily on trust since if a transaction goes wrong, you are unable to report it to the authorities.

“Instead of setting fixed prices with no leeway, sellers are now more common to invite buyers to negotiate and reach a solution.”

Cloned SIM cards had some of the largest price drops, falling by a third to $399, while the price of compromised cryptocurrency accounts dropped by 72% on average during the previous 12 months.

According to BDO, the dark web—which is inaccessible to conventional search engines—contributes significantly to worldwide cybercrime because it allows users to remain anonymous and makes it possible to buy financial and personal data. With “many of the larger and popular marketplace sites having been shut down,” law enforcement was also active, but new sites were quickly emerging to take their place, “many with the same vendors.”

The quarter’s “increased chatter” about the conflict, threats of coordinated action, and information sharing were some aspects that mirror developments in the Middle East.

According to the report, identity theft and romance scams only make up a small portion of the money lost to cybercrime, with investment scams accounting for 70% of the total.

Ponzi schemes, cryptocurrency scams, false IPOs, and imposter bonds were examples of common investment scams. Others included medical items, internet shopping, rebate scams, distant access, and pyramid schemes.

At $105 million, the total losses attributed to scams during the September quarter were 24% lower than those recorded during the April to June quarter.

54% of the victims were 55 years of age or older, which represents a 7% increase from the June 2023 report. Cybercriminals, however, were concentrating more and more on the younger demographic.

It stated that emails had surpassed phone calls as the most common scam technique. “Scammers continue to target Gen-X populations, mirroring trends observed from Dec 2022 (44 per cent) to March 2023 (53 per cent)”