You Can Buy a Full Identity for as Little as $8

Hackers are advertising a service on the encrypted, Russian, messaging app Telegram that would let you buy a full identity for between $8 and $40. In crypto.

The company, USiSLookups, a play on the data broker USInfoSearch, allows you to look up virtually anyone. In just a few moments.

The Telegram channel includes a small number of sample reports, including President Biden and podcaster Joe Rogan. At least Biden has the secret service to protect him. Not so sure about Joe.

The data in those reports includes date of birth, address, previous addresses, previous phone numbers and employers, known relatives and associates and driver’s license information.

USInfoSearch is a legitimate data broker if there is such a thing. Reporter Brian Krebs reached out to Martin Data, their parent company, and they initially claimed that the data was not theirs; that someone was pretending it was their data.

After a lot of badgering, they admitted that the data was theirs and that hackers had compromised one of their clients. Or at least that was their claim.

They claimed, and I am sure this is true, that many hackers present themselves as legitimate companies every month. And they try to vet them for legitimacy.

This is not the first time they have been in trouble. About 10 years ago a very similar operation was discovered when a Vietnamese hacker impersonated an American private investigator.

The hacker behind USiSLookups is behind all sorts of data theft; this is just one of his enterprises.

This is one of the downsides of the modern digital era and data brokers in particular. If the data is there, it will be stolen. Credit: Brian Krebs

by