How Does IDStrong's Dark Web Monitoring Services Work?

The internet includes a public area (also known as the surface web) where most people spend time shopping and browsing websites. Then there is another layer called the deep web, where you log into sites like Netflix or your bank to see private, guarded information. The dark web is a network of highly encrypted and virtually untraceable websites hidden from traditional search engines. As part of the larger “deep web,” the darknet is associated with black markets, illegal drugs, stolen credit card details, guns, counterfeit money, forged documents, child pornography, unlicensed pharmaceuticals, and the sale of other illicit goods. You can perform a dark web scan to determine if your personal information like usernames and passwords (credentials) shows up in a data breach. If your details appear on the dark web, identity thieves can use it for fraud, account takeovers, and other criminal acts.

As an obscure part of the deep web, the dark web is not very easy to find. When you enter a word or phrase into Google, you use the surface web, and the search results show you what is available. When you log onto your online accounts like Amazon, Netflix, your medical insurance company, or your online banking account, you use the deep web. The deep web is a gated area you can only access using secure credentials because it stores personally identifiable information about you. However, the dark web is another level that you cannot reach through popular web browsers like Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Microsoft Edge, Yahoo, or Bing. Instead, users must download and use a special anonymizing browser called The Onion Router (TOR), which protects your privacy and encrypts all traffic. If you use a VPN on your home network, it similarly encrypts your online activities to keep them private.

If you attempt to research your own information personally by venturing into the dark web, you could be tricked into interacting with hackers and exposing your identity further. You never really know who anyone is on the dark web. The dark web can be a dangerous place. A better solution is to use professionals to monitor the dark web for you and alert you when your information is exposed, sold, or used so you can take preventative measures to fix the problem.

Over the past few years, hacker groups have compromised billions of user accounts through data breaches. Hackers use various techniques to steal data, including malware, spyware, phishing scams, SIM card swapping, and ransomware. Some of these fraudsters even raid people’s trash or mail looking for bank statements, bills, or tax documents to steal Information. Cybercriminals take the stolen data and post it on the dark web in hacker forums to expose or sell on dark web marketplaces. Their goal is to make a quick profit. IDStrong’s dark web monitoring will alert you when your personal information is found on the dark web, meaning that someone has hacked your online accounts, stolen your credentials, or exposed them and is actively trying to sell them.

By now, most people’s email addresses are exposed online. That means that you could be targeted for phishing scams or other types of fraud. When your email address is exposed, your risk of identity theft increases, and could indicate your passwords may also be exposed. Someone could easily use your email address and pair it with other user credentials found on the dark web to break into your online accounts or engage in other suspicious activities like stealing additional sensitive data, draining your bank accounts, or stealing your identity. If you know your email account is exposed, first scan your computer for malware, change the email password, and then sign up for IDStrong’s identity monitoring to check for other exposures online.

Perform a quick search using the IDStrong free dark web scan tool. Our free scan will show you if your information has been found on the dark web or not. After you sign up, you can see when a data breach occurred, what was breached, where it was breached from (the website), and also see actions that you need to take to fix the problem.

To perform a dark web scan, you just need to type your name, email, phone, username, password, or SSN in the IDStrong search box at the top of this page, and within seconds you will know if any of your sensitive data has been compromised.

The deep web is a collection of non-indexed web pages deliberately hidden from conventional search engines like Google or Bing to protect sensitive or private data. Examples include cloud data, government websites, online banks, credit cards, and website services. However, the dark web is a different animal from non-indexed websites often used for dangerous, illegal, and criminal activities. Some things found there are pirated software, malware kits for budding young criminals, user credentials (usernames/passwords), corporate business data, weapons, child pornography, endangered animals, slave labor, and dozens of other illegal goods. In addition, the dark web is difficult to navigate and operates much slower than the deep web.

Identity thieves sell data (online, e-commerce, bank, or email accounts) for shockingly low prices on the black market. Credit card details go for as little as $12-$20 or $40 when the PIN is included. A tax ID costs an average of $28. A social security number or passport costs $60-$80. Online banking logins sell for $35 or $65 - for bank accounts with a $2,000+ balance. A driver’s license costs $225. You could buy a complete physical identification package with a new name, birth date, passport, SSN, and even a tax return for $5,200. Many transactions are conducted using cryptocurrencies so it’s harder to track the criminals.

The dark web is a vibrant marketplace for illegal goods. Some of the things that criminals sell on the dark web include stolen Netflix accounts, credit, and debit card numbers, PINs, bank account details, email addresses, phone numbers, social security numbers, driver’s license numbers, passport details, usernames, and passwords, medical information and much more!

IDStrong databases contain billions of passwords from hacked accounts exposed on the dark web. These passwords come from personal social media accounts, bank accounts, private medical records, blogs, peer-to-peer networks, shopping websites, chat rooms, forums, webinars, or email accounts. IDStrong gathers Information from semi-restricted forums, black markets, hacker forums, IRCs, BitTorrent, and peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing platforms.