In addition, if your SSN is compromised due to identity theft or for some other reason, obtaining a new number can be a solution for you. Going through official channels to request a new SSN and waiting for approval can take a long time. “Identity theft can have a devastating impact on a victim’s long-term emotional and financial health. Taking down the SSNDOB website disrupted ID theft criminals and helped millions of Americans whose personal information was compromised,” said Special Agent in Charge Darrell Waldon, IRS-CI Washington, D.C. Field Office. “Special agents with IRS-CI’s DC Cyber Crimes Unit will continue to work with the U.S. and international law enforcement community to end these complex scams, regardless of where the money trail leads them.” The SSNDOB marketplace consisted of multiple sites acting as mirrors of each other to aid in preventing DDoS attacks or law enforcement operations. The marketplace allowed cybercriminals to purchase “Social Security number, date of birth and full info of people” using bitcoin.
The investigation is being overseen by Assistant United States Attorney Rachel Jones and asset forfeiture will be handled by Assistant United States Attorney Suzanne Nebesky.
What To Do After Buying An SSN
There is also no way to perform a social security lookup (i.e. to enter a name and get a social security number back). US Attorney Roger Handberg and agents from the FBI and the IRS criminal investigation office took the network down through an international operation conducted alongside authorities from Cyprus and Latvia, per the statement. For years, the SSNDOB Marketplace sold personal information of people in the US — including names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers — and would advertise its services on dark web forums, the DOJ said in a statement. Blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis said that in addition to Social Security numbers, the site also carried email addresses, passwords and credit card numbers. The site also had ties to other popular stolen credential marketplaces like Joker’s Stash, a large darknet market that offered stolen credit card information and other information before it was was shut down January 2021. Precautions, such as educating oneself, consulting legal advice, protecting personal information, and choosing reliable sellers, are essential if one were to consider exploring the dark web.
- The international operation to dismantle and seize this infrastructure is the result of close cooperation with law enforcement authorities in Cyprus and Latvia.
- “I applaud the extensive work and cooperation by our domestic and international law enforcement partners in bringing a halt to this global scheme,” said U.S.
- Services like SSNDOB enable several different kinds of digital fraud by giving cybercriminals access to stolen PII.
- Many fraudulent individuals or groups operate in these illicit marketplaces, offering SSNs that they do not possess or luring unsuspecting buyers into traps.
- SSNDOB listed the personal information for approximately 24 million individuals in the United States, including names, dates of birth, SSNs and credit card numbers and generated more than $19 million in revenue, according to the DOJ.
- It is a network of encrypted websites that require special software, such as Tor (The Onion Router), to access.
Buy SSN Online
The innocent individuals whose SSNs are being traded on the Dark Web often bear the brunt of these criminal activities. They may face difficulties in accessing loans, obtaining employment, or acquiring government benefits due to the fraudulent use of their personal information. Welcome to the dark underbelly of the internet, the enigmatic realm known as the Dark Web. It is a clandestine world, inhabited by cybercriminals, hackers, and those seeking to engage in illegal activities. One of the illicit trades that flourish within this hidden realm is the buying and selling of Social Security Numbers (SSN). Criminals involved in illegal activities often seek to distance themselves from their true identities to evade law enforcement or escape legal troubles.
Full Info Ssn Dob
It is a network of encrypted websites that require special software, such as Tor (The Onion Router), to access. This network operates with a high level of anonymity and allows users to browse, communicate, and conduct transactions without revealing their true identities. “Perhaps most interesting of all though is the activity we see between SSNDOB and Joker’s Stash, a large darknet market focused on stolen credit card information and other PII that shut down in January 2021,” Chainanlysis wrote. “Between December 2018 and June 2019, SSNDOB sent over $100,000 worth of Bitcoin to Joker’s Stash, suggesting the two markets may have had some relationship to one another, including possibly shared ownership.” The seized domains seem to be part of the same operation as one detailed by security journalist Brian Krebs about nine years ago.
What Was SSNDOB?
SSNDOB, an online marketplace that sold the names, social security numbers, and dates of birth of approximately 24 million US people, has been taken offline following an international law enforcement operation. Even if you manage to acquire a valid SSN, using it for illegal activities can have far-reaching consequences. The repercussions can include damaging someone else’s life, negatively impacting their credit, or causing them immense stress and hardship.
FBI Seizes Notorious Marketplace For Selling Millions Of Stolen SSNs
By acquiring a stolen or fake SSN, they can create new personas and operate under the radar, making it difficult for authorities to trace their activities back to them. The international operation to dismantle and seize this infrastructure is the result of close cooperation with law enforcement authorities in Cyprus and Latvia. On June 7, 2022, seizure orders were executed against the domain names of the SSNDOB Marketplace (ssndob.ws, ssndob.vip, ssndob.club, and blackjob.biz), effectively ceasing the website’s operation. The seizure of SSNDOB’s infrastructure marks the continued ramping up of efforts by law enforcement to disrupt malicious cyber activity.
Speciality
Users were able to browse available PII by country and search for specific names or other characteristics. PII sold on SSNDOB included email addresses, passwords, credit card numbers, and in the case of many American victims, social security numbers. Cybercriminals who purchased this information could use it to conduct phishing attacks and blackmail scam campaigns, as well as to create accounts on social media and financial services under assumed identities. “Identity theft can have a devastating impact on a victim’s long-term emotional and financial health.
The Dark Web provides an avenue for these individuals to obtain SSNs and explore the realm of cybercrime without fear of being caught. Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces that a federal jury today found Sindi Yamileth Mejia Avila (22, Guatemala) guilty of aggravated identity theft, false representation of a Social… Using Chainalysis Reactor, we can see that SSNDOB’s Bitcoin payment processing system has been active since April 2015. Since then, the service has received nearly $22 million worth of Bitcoin across over 100,000 transactions. That works out to roughly $220 per transfer on average, and a median payment size of $80, which matches what we’d expect for individual purchases of PII.
It’s a real issue, and with our identity verification services, we encourage our clients to cover their bases and have us check candidate identities before they hire. While Joker’s Stash shut down its operations voluntarily, they were facing increased pressure from law enforcement, disruptions due to COVID-19, and the decreasing quality of stolen credit cards. “Perhaps most interesting of all though is the activity we see between SSNDOB and Joker’s Stash, a large darknet market focused on stolen credit card information and other PII that shut down in January 2021,” explains Chainalysis’ report.
Access to such information does not imply association with, endorsement of, approval of, or recommendation by Chainalysis of the site or its operators, and Chainalysis is not responsible for the products, services, or other content hosted therein. The USA Trace SSN Verification tool – and other tools like it – do not match a social security number with a name. Social security number issue dates are not exact and sometimes give a year range rather than exact year of birth. Persons born overseas or who became US citizens later in life will also not have received their number at birth. Regarding the state of issue, a US person born overseas would be issued an SSN from a state corresponding to a parent.
On June 7, 2022, seizure orders were executed against the domain names of the SSNDOB Marketplace, effectively ceasing the website’s operation. One of the significant risks of buying an SSN on the Dark Web is that you are engaging in illegal activity. Purchasing stolen or fake SSNs is a crime, and participating in this illicit trade can result in serious legal repercussions. Law enforcement agencies actively monitor Dark Web activities, and individuals involved in buying or selling SSNs can face criminal charges, including identity theft, fraud, and conspiracy. Cybercriminals can exploit this personal information for fraudulent activities, such as identity theft, credit card fraud, or opening false accounts.
This encryption and anonymization serve as strong incentives for criminals to conduct their activities within this hidden realm. No arrests were announced, but the press release said the US plans to conduct asset forfeiture as the investigation continues. The IRS said agents “will continue to work with the US and international law enforcement community to end these complex scams, regardless of where the money trail leads them.” The operation was conducted by the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ), with help from the Cyprus Police, to seize four domains hosting the SSNDOB marketplace — ssndob.ws, ssndob.vip, ssndob.club and blackjob.biz. ID verification is necessary because millions of identities are stolen across the United States each year.
