Authorities Investigate Irish Identities Being Sold On The Dark Web For As Low As €25

It is claimed you can buy anything on the dark web these days and that may well be true. Worryingly for Irish people, there are reports that people's identities are being bought and sold on the dark web for as little as €25.

The Irish Daily Mail has reported that as a result of data breaches, sensitive personal information and data have been widely available for scammers and are being packaged together and sold by criminals on the most remote parts of the internet.

These packages are known as ‘fullz’ and often contain names, addresses, IDs, credit card details and copies of passports and driving licences. Even extremely sensitive information such as bank login details, passwords and PPS numbers are widely available.

According to Irish Daily Mail, sources have revealed that the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) is aware of the practice and is currently investigating the issue.

However, investigations by authorities on such issues prove to be very difficult due to the sophisticated nature of the scams and the reluctance of members of the public to make official statements Gardaí or perhaps don’t even know they have been a victim of a scam.

A source with knowledge of such security investigations told the Irish Daily Mail that “Most people posting credit card details online are not just taking one person’s details and putting them online.

‘The vast majority of people have a massive amount of information that has been scraped from data breaches. So, while you can put something up for €25, this seller will be advertising hundreds if not thousands of these. They also minimise the risk of not being caught as they deal solely in cryptocurrency which is notoriously difficult to track.”

While the use of the dark web and cryptocurrency make investigations very difficult for authorities, criminals are clearly very innovative in the tools they use and are constantly adapting to maximise returns while minimising risks.

In fact, the Irish Times reported last week that the National Cyber Security Centre is currently drawing up advice for the public to avoid potential scams due to ‘frightening’ advances in artificial intelligence.

Speaking to the Irish Times, the Minister of State with responsibility for cybersecurity Ossian Smyth said “AI tools have been advancing much more rapidly than expected in the last few months.

Their powers and level of sophistication are frightening, and a lot of scenarios are clearly possible now which could pose a risk to the public, and we are going to be advising people on how to minimise that risk.”

In response to the news of identities being sold online, a Bank of Ireland spokesperson said

“Monitoring of the dark web is a standard fraud detection and prevention measure undertaken by the bank.”