NordVPN has shared insights on “unmasking” dark web deals. The team at NordVPN have looked at what tools and scams are trending among hackers this holiday / shopping season.
According to the update, dark-minded hackers are able to find scam and phishing kits as well as “convincing” fake shop layouts starting at just $5 or even for “free.”
Traditionally, November and December are considered to be the “peak” months for retail sales, mainly because of the holiday season. Online commerce stats indicate that Black Friday and Cyber Monday remain “the busiest spending days of the year.”
As consumers gear up to make digital / online purchases, hackers prepare various scams to trap them.
They are able to easily do so because the dark web is full of scamming and phishing kits, tutorials, fake shop websites, and even personal lessons “on how to execute these scams.”
With NordStellar analytics, we can now “check and compare them.”
Adrianus Warmenhoven, a cybersecurity professional at NordVPN has said that phishing kits found on the dark web are “usually free, fake website layouts start at $50, and malware-as-a-service subscriptions cost about $150 monthly.” They added that the priciest items, such “as cookie grabber pages, cost $400 or more. But just like with anything else, you can also find discounts for these items.”
Internet scam stats indicate that fake e-commerce sites “are some of the most successful online scams.”
As noted in the update from NordVPN, up to 84% of people targeted by a fake shopping website “engage with it, and nearly half lose money.”
These fake sites “mimic” legitimate businesses, often duplicating design elements and logos, with URLs that may “differ by just one character.”
Warmenhoven added that scammers impersonate major platforms such as PayPal, Amazon, Shopify, various banking websites, and even Netflix “to target their customers.” They also noted that their kits for creating these fake shop pages include “various features promised by their creators, such as customizability — due to their use of HTML coding — and promise easy setup.”
These pages feature card verification details and strong anti-bot systems. Additionally, they are “designed to block website scanning and have the capability to bypass OTP (one-time password) and 2FA systems, all while being designed to evade detection.”
The dark web also hosts subscription-based malware-as-a-service for as little as “$100-150 per month, while phishing kits are often available for free.”
As a result, cybercriminals have a wide range of tools to create scams and get support “through easily accessible Telegram channels and forums.”
Cookie grabber pages are among the “most expensive” online scam kits found on the dark web.
These pages are specifically crafted to capture “cookies from a user’s browser or social media platforms, such as Facebook, which hackers can then use for nefarious purposes.”
Warmenhoven also shared:
“NordVPN research has revealed that over 54 billion cookies were found for sale on the dark web, highlighting the scale of this issue. You may not realize that if a hacker gets hold of your active cookies, they don’t really need login credentials, passwords, or even multi-factor authentication to log in to and take over your accounts. The most commonly stolen personal information from cookies includes names, email addresses, cities, passwords, and addresses.”
While no magic bullet can fully protect against hackers and their malicious schemes online, Warmenhoven recommends the following digital strategies.
- Learn to spot phishing: Phishing emails and SMS text messages are often responsible for malware infections.
- Avoid shady downloads: Avoid downloading software, apps, or updates from unofficial sources — get them from app stores or official websites instead.
- Regularly delete cookies to minimize data hackers can steal.
- Secure accounts with MFA: Setting up multi-factor authentication on your accounts adds an extra layer of security, which can prove incredibly useful if someone gets your credentials and tries to log in to your accounts.
- Use dark web monitoring tools: Dark Web Monitor continuously scans the dark web for your credentials and sends an alert if your email address appears in a leaked database.
NordVPN is a VPN service provider, chosen by internet users worldwide.
The service offers features such as “dedicated IP, Double VPN, and Onion Over VPN servers, which help to boost your online privacy with zero tracking.”
One of NordVPN’s key features is Threat Protection Pro, a tool that blocks malicious websites, trackers, and ads and scans downloads for malware.
However, this feature is not always accurate. It regularly warns users about suspicious activities by flagging legitimate and highly reputable services. In most cases, these websites are safe and can be used in a secure manner. While threat protection is useful, NordVPN needs to do more research and focus on improved product development in an increasingly sophisticated cybersecurity landscape.
