It’s a deal, it’s a good deal: what drives darknet markets
Darknet marketplaces are the drivers of online crime – from drug trafficking to fake IDs; everything can be purchased if you know where to look.
While most of the Western world is currently enjoying the holiday sales season, with Black Fridays and Cyber Mondays and all the great deals a budget-conscious shopper could hope for, there is a hidden side and darker deals and sales featuring everything from exotic animal parts. to stolen identity cards.
Accessing these markets is simply a matter of knowing what tools to use and then knowing where to look to find the details of these darknet markets.
You need the TOR browser, on the one hand, which is pretty easy to get, but finding the addresses of the markets themselves is more of a challenge. And while darknet marketplaces don’t quite have the advertising reach of, say, Amazon, there are several forums, on both light and darknets, dedicated to tracking the status of these marketplaces and onion addresses constantly evolving that they use. to avoid scrutiny from law enforcement.
Bitdefender’s cybercrime unit has, however, spent some time embedding itself in these illicit communities and has been able to track current prices for a range of goods and services, from the ridiculously cheap to more tempting – and dangerous –. products.
The cheapest items include things like compromised streaming accounts, which sell for between $5 and $15 each for those who don’t legitimately want to purchase a monthly subscription. For between $25 and $150, you can choose fake IDs complete with selfies, perfect for fooling automated KYC systems.
If you want to boost your social media presence, you can buy followers and likes. For between $4 and $400, you can buy guaranteed “ghost” followers and suddenly look like an internet sensation. Counterfeit cash can be purchased at an exchange rate as low as 10%: just $95 can net you €1,000 in counterfeit notes.
Exotic animal parts are also bought and sold on the darknet. $5,000 will provide a rhino horn acquired through illegal poaching. And if you want to create a Tony Montana-style drug empire, meth can be purchased in bulk for $34,000 per kilo, and rocket launchers and explosives can be had for between $500 and $35,000.
In almost all cases, sales are made in cryptocurrency, usually either bitcoin or Monero – the latter being particularly popular due to its relative untraceability. And like many legitimate sites, user reviews can make or break a seller’s reputation. Many darknet sites offer comprehensive review systems for both buyers and sellers, meaning that potential buyers can find a relatively trustworthy seller.
“For consumers, Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales bring excitement, deals and a sense of accomplishment. While this may seem enticing, it is wise to avoid dark markets and stick to conventional purchases,” Bitdefender said.
“Curiosity (especially when it comes to cybercrime) is extremely risky, and getting caught even once (depending on what was purchased) could result in serious prison sentences. Remember, law enforcement has infiltrated many of these sites and is constantly monitoring them.
