How Much Is Your Personal Data Worth After the Facebook Data Breach?

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Posted: 22nd November 2018

Jacob Mallinder

Last Updated 22nd January 2024

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Back in July Finance Monthly reported on how much your personal data was worth on the dark web.

Price comparison experts Money Guru conducted research on several dark web marketplaces and uncovered that criminals can buy your details on the dark web for less than a coffee. In fact, email logins could be bought for as little as £2.10, and Facebook logins for £3.

Sadly, data breaches are becoming a common occurrence. In the past few months alone British Airways, Reddit, HMRC and Ticketmaster have all been hit.

New research from Money Guru shows that the cost of personal data on the dark web has reduced significantly following Facebook’s recent data breach.

How Much Is Your Data Worth Now?

Your data, which can include everything from banking details to social media logins, is worth less than you might think to hackers and scammers.

Following the Facebook data breach hacked Facebook account details are now being sold on the dark web for as little as £0.77 ($1). This is £2.23 ($2.90) down from Money Guru’s previous findings earlier in June 2018.

They also found that hacked Instagram credentials are available on the dark web for as little as £1.91 ($2.50), down £2.89 ($3.80) and that hacked Twitter accounts are being sold for as little as £0.61 ($0.80), a reduction £1.89 ($2.50).

However, that wasn’t all that the price comparison expert discovered during their research.

Money Guru discovered tools and guides to help people hack into Facebook accounts available on the dark web for as little as £1.29 ($1.70), and similar tools for Instagram for £0.87 ($1.15) and Twitter for £0.87 ($1.15).

The personal finance experts discovered tools to help hack Gmail, commit phishing attacks and bypass phone verification available on the dark web for as little as £0.87 ($1.15). They are also found a plaintext database of Twitter account details with millions of emails and passwords available for £31.86 ($41.60).

Staying Safe Online

Deborah Vickers, channel director at moneyguru.com said: “Our social media accounts put our lives under a microscope and these details are frequently stolen and sold to unscrupulous companies so they can target you with advertising. By using your data against you, criminals can lock you out and take control of your accounts, which could cause serious reputational and financial worry.

“Rather concerningly all three dark web markets that we researched (Wall Street Market, Dream Market and Burlusconi Market) are currently offering ‘164m LinkedIn user records’ including separate pieces of information such as email addresses, names, passwords for only £7.65 ($9.99).

“However, it seems that as more data breaches occur, the more aware the general public are becoming of the issue which could be causing the significant price drops of personal data on the dark web. Our research into personal data and how much it's actually worth on the black market is shocking to say the least. It just goes to show how vital it is to protect your data where possible to avoid facing costly consequences.”

So What Data Can Criminals Buy on the Dark Web?

The marketplaces Money Guru searched were ‘Dream Market’, ‘Burlusconi Market’ and ‘Wall St Market’ (three of the most popular current markets since the fall of the Silk Road) all of which provide goods including: