Fraud on the Dark Web – October 2020

Last updated: November 28, 2020
by Benjamin
Categories: Fraud on the Dark Web

Fraud on the Dark Web – October 2020

Last updated: November 28, 2020
by Benjamin
Categories: Fraud on the Dark Web

This is the second Bulletin in an occasional series identifying and highlighting the fraud typology taking place on the Dark Web 

Key points and developments: 

  • There were roughly 11,500 adverts for fraud related items available in October 2020. This is slightly lower than in June, mostly due to Empire
  • Market closing down.
  • The three main markets identified for selling fraud items were ‘White House Market’, ‘Dark Market’ and ‘Torrez’.
  • Compromised accounts make up for the most advertised fraud item with roughly 4,000 adverts, followed by fake identity documents (1472 adverts) and stolen personal information (2,000 adverts)
  • The Dark web market ‘White House Market’ has now started selling malware and botnets, along with ‘corporate intelligence’ (which is largely insider information).
  • Empire market, one of the largest markets has now ‘exit scammed’ (taking all the money stored by customers and vendors in the market) and closed down. This closure has led to a number of technical measures being taken by markets to reassure customers and vendors.
ItemAverage Price Across Markets
Credit Card/Bank Account 
£24 (+£8)
Fraud Tutorial 
£48 (+£0)
Personal Information/Documents 
£19 (+£9)
Some item categories have been condensed into related categories (or ‘Other’) if there
were a small number of items in that category.

Examples – Dark Web Market Adverts from October 2020 

An advert for a combination of bank accounts and customer information. This is sold in bulk, which seems to be becoming more common.

An advert for a combination of an ID Scan, full personal information and ‘selfies’ – this is a full verification pack.

An advert for a UK passport template – these allow the buyer to enter in their own details in the correct font/placement, and are usually of high quality.

An advert for a Santander account which is already connect to a bitcoin service. This allows the buyer to easily transfer any money in the account via bitcoin – making it very difficult to trace. This also comes with an ID card, Proof of funds and a sim card shipped to the buyer.

Learn More

If you are interested in learning more about investigating fraud on the dark web, and how you can protect your company by doing so, take a look at our online course: https://pdacounterfraud.co.uk/counter-fraud-courses/dark-web-online-training/