What your information is worth on the black market
While the loss of a pivotal piece of personal information can cost you big-time, thieves aren’t exactly breaking the bank on any single transaction. Instead, they make money by selling in bulk.
If they sell 100,000 Social Security numbers for a penny each, that’s $1,000, says Robert Siciliano, a Boston-based security expert with BestIDTheftCompanys.com.
They also make money by selling composites. “Fullz,” a dossier of credentials for a single identity theft victim, go for an average of $30 apiece, a $5 increase from 2013 prices. “Kitz,” which contain health care data plus counterfeit documents related to it, net more than $1,000.
These dossiers “have always been a specialty and still are,” says David Shear, a network security analyst with Dell SecureWorks. “These include physical credit card, driver’s license, insurance card, etc.”
Below is a breakdown of how much money particular pieces of information can fetch on the black market. Prices are culled from 2013 and 2014 Dell SecureWorks reports.
| Hacker service | Price |
|---|---|
| Social Security number (sold as part of ‘Fullz’ dossier) | $30 |
| Date of birth | $11 |
| Health insurance credentials | $20 |
| Visa or MasterCard credentials | $4 |
| American Express credentials | $7 |
| Discover credit credentials | $8 |
| Credit card with magnetic stripe or chip data | $12 |
| Bank account number (balance of $70,000 to $150,000) | $300 or less |
| Full identity ‘Kitz’ | $1,200 to $1,300 |
Source: Dell SecureWorks
If you suspect your financial data has been stolen, be sure to check your credit report for suspicious activity. Get your report for free at myBankrate.
