Dark Web has become a creepy place since it is home to illegal activities including selling drugs, weapons, stolen databases and hosting highly condemnable activities like hosting child pornography platforms.
Now, according to the latest research from Terbium Labs, a dark Web intelligence firm, cybercriminals are now targeting new-born babies to fulfill their malicious objectives. Reportedly, the Social Security numbers and salient other Personal Identifiable Information (PII), birth dates and maiden names of mothers are up for sale on the Dark Web for hundreds of dollars.
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The ads, which contain information about identity packs or Fullz, are generally quite straightforward; such as one of the ads on Dark Web reads: “Infant fullz get em befor tax seson [sic]” reported Terbium Labs.
The nature of data is such that it is being sold at a whopping $300 worth of bitcoin per dataset. We do know why there is an abrupt surge in the selling of personal data of babies; the tax season is about to start and cybercriminals believe it to be the perfect time for conducting identity theft. Though a majority of people start thinking about filing their tax returns between March and April or later but for the Dark Web hooligans, the earlier a fraudulent tax return is filed the better would be the outcome.
Therefore, in order to file a fake tax return, the trickster need to obtain the exact same information that is required to be entered when filing for the real tax return and what they need is easily available on the dark web all they need is to pay in bitcoin.
The dark web marketplace where cybercriminals have been selling data (Credit: Terbium Labs)
Fullz typically contains first and last names of the person, Social Security number, dates of birth, driver’s license number and similar other PII. Fullz allow fraudsters to commit tax fraud but they need additional information such as W2 forms, pay stubs and Employee Identification Numbers, etc. On the Dark Web, a W2 costs a buyer $52 while on other forums its price is even lower at $45 each or even $35 if ordered for ten or more forms, which is quite cheap considering the amount that can be earned through a fraudulent tax return.
The information helps cybercriminals make their credit history spotless and this eventually is helpful in getting mortgages, apply for credit cards and/or become eligible for government benefits. Everything will remain undetected for a long time until the victim reaches an age when he or she is able to open their own credit card account.
Terbium Labs noted in its official blog post that: “With a maximum child tax credit of $1,000 per child, that is a potentially significant return on investment, assuming the buyer successfully files and claims the return. An enterprising buyer can find the remaining details through open-source data sets or by harvesting the parents’ other online presences like social media accounts.”
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