Whether physical or digital, personal data sells for exorbitant prices on the dark web. Despite repeated crackdowns by web police around the world, forums dedicated to reselling this stolen data are flourishing every day.
After a three-year study on the subject, the specialized cybersecurity site Privacy Affairs has compiled a list – seen by West of France – estimate the price of the most popular information, such as identity documents or financial information.
Popular French documents
The passport of French origin is one of the most expensive on these networks: in its physical form it is sold for around 2,700 euros. To put it in perspective, the most expensive passport registered by Privacy Affairs is the Maltese: it sells for around 3,660 euros.
The French driving license resells it, just over 1300 euros. The prices of European Union ID cards have also increased significantly in the last three years. They went from about 150 to 1500 euros. Privacy Affairs illustrates its investigation with the example of a French identity card, sold in its physical form for around 1,300 euros.
We observe that when it is just a simple “scan”, a photocopy, the price drops drastically to around 130 euros, regardless of the country of origin.
The value of bank information fluctuates particularly depending on the account balance, the country of origin but also the bank in question. For example, bank account credentials at ING sell for around €3,900, but some accounts can go as high as €90.
As for simple bank cards, “the average cost varies between 10 and 220 euros depending on the country of origin and the proof of account balance.” Privacy Matters further states that, by December 2022, around 7.5 million credit cards had been put up for sale on the dark web.
Social accounts also concerned
Reselling accounts linked to stolen online services is much less popular than identity documents: a Netflix, Spotify or even Uber account costs just a few tens of euros, usually between 10 and 40 euros. Only the verified AirBnb account stands out and it is worth about 270 euros.
When it comes to social media accounts, stolen Instagram, Facebook or Twitter IDs cost between $20 and $30. It takes about 55 euros for a Gmail account. Cryptocurrency-linked accounts are obviously on the rise and can cost up to €2,450 depending on the platform.
Source: BFM TV
