DarkNet offers “digital profiles”

It is necessary to fight against massive leaks of personal data not only for regulators, but also for citizens themselves

In 2020, experts recorded an active growth in sales of personal data (PD) on the black market. Moreover, scammers offer a package of detailed “digital profiles” of citizens. Sources of leaks are increasingly becoming not government agencies, but commercial companies. Not only lawmakers and law enforcement officers will have to fight new threats, but also users themselves, experts are sure.

WHAT AND FOR HOW MUCH YOU CAN BUY ON THE DARKNET

The main platforms for selling personal information are forums on the darknet and Telegram channels, Andrey Arsentiev, head of analytics and special projects at InfoWatch Group, told RSpectr. These resources are popular with criminals due to the fact that it is difficult to deanonymize the seller on them.

A journalist from the RSpectr editorial office visited the black market on the darknet. On one of the popular Russian-language forums, a fraudster under the nickname “Detective Colombo” offered a number of services based on data received from government agencies and private companies.

In the section “Breaking through state structures: the Ministry of Internal Affairs, traffic Police, Federal Tax Service, FIU, MFC”, the cost of services starts from 1.2 thousand rubles and concerns the simplest requests: criminal record, being wanted, police records, addresses.