Tech

Crooks On The ‘Dark Web’ Can Ruin You In A Minute — And It Could Cost Them Only A Few Dollars

Virginia Kruta Associate Editor
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As more and more Americans keep their information online, the security of their web-based endeavors has become of the utmost importance. But while most people understand the importance of safeguarding things like their online bank account information, they don’t always pay as much attention to social media passwords.

That makes Facebook logins relatively cheap and easy to come by on the dark web, a layer of the internet that is only accessible using specific software or authorization. The dark web already has a reputation for facilitating illegal activities like drug trades and peer-to-peer sharing of child pornography. Since the user’s IP address is difficult to trace, hackers are using that anonymity to gain access to everything from GrubHub passwords to PayPal account information.

Hackers may not be able to use a Facebook login to raid a bank account, but they can use the information to gain access to and search through connected apps and other personal data — like birth dates and pets’ names, which are often typical fodder for account passwords and security questions.

But in spite of the fact that, in the hands of a capable criminal, something as simple as a Facebook login could eventually give someone access to your entire net worth, the Sun reports that Cambridge Analytica’s data breach of Facebook — which compromised the information of over 50 million users — would likely sell for just over $260 million, or $5.20 for each account. A Gmail login can be purchased for just $1.

Account information that could provide direct access to money, such as a PayPal account, could command nearly $250. According to Market Watch, a person’s entire net worth — hacked accounts and access to financial information — can be purchased for around $1200.