 |
| What Actually Sold on the Dark Web? |
What Actually Sold on the Dark Web?
You’ve heard all the rumors - illegal weapons, illicit
drugs, even hitmen for hire! We’re sure you’re not in the market for anything
unsavory or illegal, but you might be tempted to see for yourself if any of
thesauri Web urban legends are true. We definitely don’t recommend that you
visit the Dark Web - we don’t want that on our conscience! Instead, this blog
will save you a potentially dangerous trip into the Dark Web and answer your
most burning questions about the craziest things sold on the Dark Web. First of
all, what is the Dark Web, anyways? The best way to understand the Dark Web is
to think of it like an iceberg. The “Clearnet” - the part of the internet that
most of us are familiar with - is like the tip of the iceberg sticking out
above the water. It’s the visible part of the internet that can be easily
accessed through search engines like Google, but it only accounts for about 10%
of the whole internet. The “Deep Web” is like the rest of the iceberg, it’s
hidden underwater, but it makes up the bulk of the whole internet. The Deep Web
contains over 90% of the knowledge on the web. People tend to fear what they
don’t understand, but the majority of the Deep Web is pretty harmless, and it
actually might even be helpful. Back in the 1970s, when the internet was just
getting started, the terms “dark web” and “deep web” weren’t ominous - they
simply referred to the parts of the internet that weren’t connected to the
mainstream “internet” and weren’t indexed for search engines. Because it’s
unindexed, it’s incredibly hard to navigate this information without the help
of Google. Some Deep Web search engines, like Candle, do exist, but without
indexing, it’s incredibly hard to sort through the massive amount of
information on the Deep Web. So, how can the Deep Web be good? Well, those of
us lucky enough to have unrestricted internet access may take it for granted,
but that free access is not a given everywhere in the world. In countries where
internet access is restricted, the Deep Web is essential for connecting people
to others within their country, and with the outside world. Even those of us
with unrestricted internet access may prefer the privacy and anonymity of the
Deep Web. The Deep Web provides access to secure email services, like Proton
Mail and has “mirror” social media and news sites like Facebook and the New
York Times. The Deep Web news outlet ProPublica was actually the first online
news site to win a coveted Pulitzer Prize. There’s a Dark Web version of
Reddit, called Hidden Answers, and even places for journalists and
whistleblowers to upload documents and sensitive info. All of these sites allow
people in more restrictive countries to communicate freely within and outside
of their country. In fact, communication through the Deep Web was instrumental
in the Arab Spring uprising of 2010. In the age of Big Data, even those with
unrestricted internet access and nothing to hide may prefer not to have their
every online move monitored, and the Deep Web offers a convenient place to
browse in privacy and connect with a community of like-minded individuals. A
lot of the activity on the Deep Web is pretty mundane. It ranges from the
downright boring, like Just Chess, a site where you can just play chess with
other users; to the mildly naughty, like pirating movies on Pirate Bay; to the
straight-up weird, like Kittens, a site exclusively dedicated to cute cat
pictures. For some reason, the Deep Web seems to have a thing for cats... For all
its benefits, the Deep Net definitely has a seedy underbelly. This is the part
of the Deep Web that we call the Dark Web. It makes up only about 6% of the
total internet, and it is home to all sorts of dangerous, illegal, and just
plain strange things. Accessing any part of the Deep Web is far from simple -
you need special browsers and location masking software to access “onions”, or
highly specific URLs. Privacy and anonymity are core values of the Deep Web,
and this is especially true in the seedier Dark Web. Some of the sketchier Dark
Web sites may even have their own vetting processes, where you may be required
to perform a potentially illegal or immoral act to prove that you’re a serious
customer and not just a nosy researcher or even a law enforcement official.
It’s important to remember that there’s no oversight on the Dark Web, which
means that there’s nowhere to turn if you’re the victim of a scam or a malware
attack. There’s also the risk that you could become involved in a law
enforcement sting. One of the most prolific Dark Web myths is that you can hire
a hitman to take out your enemies, but in reality, all of this hitman-for-hire
sites have turned out to be scams - either the hitman turns out to be fake
and just pockets your money, or the hitman is actually a law enforcement
officer in disguise. The Dark Web is home to countless marketplaces peddling
everything from stolen goods to designer knock-offs. Due to pressure from law
enforcement and a culture of secrecy, these marketplaces are constantly popping
up, moving and disappearing. The Silk Road was one of the first Dark Web
marketplaces, and it was estimated to have earned more than a billion dollars
in revenue, mostly from the sale of drugs, before it was shut down by the FBI
in 2014. In 2019 the Dream Market, another major player in the Dark Web drug
trade, gave its users thirty days’ notice that it would be closing, leading many to assume that
the site had been taken over by law enforcement and was being run as a
honey-pot operation. Now that you know the basics of the Dark Web- and you’ve
been duly warned about its dangers and risks - without further ado, let’s take
a look at some of the craziest things that are sold on the Dark Web.
Cryptocurrency Services: Bitcoin is the unofficial currency of the Dark Web.
Since Dark Web users are all about privacy and intractability, cryptocurrency
is the perfect currency for the types of transactions that happen on the Dark
Web, especially the illegal ones! The Deep Web is full of services for buying,
selling, and storing Bitcoin and another cryptocurrency, but the Dark Web takes
it a step further. You can find services that will “clean “or launder your
Bitcoin, adding another layer of intractability to your transaction. There are
even illegal Bitcoin lotteries and Dark Web casinos, where you can win real
Bitcoin payouts and skip the taxes usually applied to lottery winnings. Fake
Documents: Probably one of the tamer things you can find on the Dark Web is a
plethora of fake documents. You can get fake IDs, fake birth certificates, and
of course fake passports. There is even a site that purports to sell valid
American citizenships! But perhaps the weirdest fake document you can get on
the Dark Web? Fake college degrees. We guess that’s one way to pad your
resume... Illegal Weapons: Weapons, especially guns, are one of the most popular
items sold on the Dark Web. Although guns are easy to get in many countries,
like America, that’s definitely not the case elsewhere in the world. Plus, you
may not want your gun registered, so the Dark Web offers an additional layer of
anonymity. And guns are just the beginning - you can buy all kinds of weapons,
like explosives and even uranium! Illicit Drugs: Another mainstay of the Dark
Web, there is a thriving market for drugs of all kinds. The Dark Web’s drug
market has come a long way from being just a sneaky way to buy weed - now that
Marijuana is becoming legal in many places, people are turning to the Dark Web
for heavier stuff. Not only can you find all kinds of street drugs, like
cocaine and heroin, but there’s now a huge market for fake pharmaceuticals. For
years, a small operation in the UK was able to use Dark Web marketplaces to
elude law enforcement as they peddled an estimate done-and-a-half-million fake
Xanax pills to British customers, creating an addiction crisis in the process.
The Dark Web even has its own brand of discount Viagra, called Kamara, with its
own dedicated marketplace. I guess some people are desperate to avoid those
embarrassing doctor visits! Hacked Data: We are constantly hearing stories
about companies’ data being hacked, but we rarely hear about what happens to
all that stolen data. Most of it actually ends up for sale on the Dark Web. For
a few dollars, you can get a package of hundreds of credit card and social
security numbers - most of them will have been canceled or protected by then,
but if you’re lucky you might just find a few to use in your nefarious
endeavors. You can even find services on the Dark Web that will help you use
this new data, like, for example, by helping you get a fake loan under an
assumed identity. Hacker Tools: For those DIY-errs out there, the Dark Web is
the place to learn how to become a world-class hacker. With step-by-step
guides, ready-made malware and viruses, and physical tools like credit card
scanners and ATM skimmers, the Dark Webs a hacker’s one-stop-shop. Hackers for
Hire: If you don’t consider yourself to be tech-savvy enough to do your own
hacking, never fear - you can find hackers for hire on the Dark Web. Markets
like Digital Gangster connect you with “legitimate” hackers who can help you
with everything from retrieving passwords to hacking into another person’s
computer. While tempting, this seems pretty risky toes - after all, who’s to
say the hackers won’t turn on you? Knock-Offs & Fake Products: No black
market would be complete without a thriving trade in designer knock-offs. Of
course, you can find the standard fake Rolexes and knock-off Chanel purses, but
the Dark Web has much more to offer. You can find sites dedicated to the sale of
gold and diamonds, and custom 3D printing is becoming hugely popular. One of
the most-printed products? Gun parts. Not surprisingly, technology is a huge seller
on the Dark Web. Where else can you get so-called genuine Apple products at
deeply discounted prices? That’s right - the Dark Web. Fake Accounts: Some of the
most popular fakes found on the Dark Web are fake user accounts for popular
services. You can find lifetime Netflix accounts that will never expire or
score free rides using hacked Uber accounts. This is definitely one of the
weirdest kinds of fakes we found on the Dark Web, and it had us wondering - why
bother? Twitter Followers: In the age of social media everyone is competing for
likes, and it can sometimes seem like people will do anything to get more
followers. Yet again, the Dark Web comes to your rescue- you can actually buy
Twitter followers, or more accurately, bots, to inflate your social media
stats. If nothing you’ve heard so far seems that crazy to you, just wait until
you hear about this one: apparently, you can also buy souls on the Dark Web! In
some cultures, it’s believed that spirits can be trapped at the moment of death
and harnessed to perform powerful rituals. The Dark Web has brought this trade
into the21st century, making it easier than ever to purchase the soul of a recently departed person… for a hefty sum, of
course. And who can forget the Dark Web Mystery Boxes? This viral Dark Web
trend was based on a long-standing practice that started on eBay. But unlike
the eBay boxes, which contained harmless items like tech gear and clothing, the
Mystery Boxes from the Dark Web contained random, and terrifying objects, like
children’s clothes, evil objects, and even items with what looked like blood on
them. People fear what they don’t understand. Most of the Deep Web is harmless,
and actually an important tool for free speech. But the Dark Web is the seedy
underbelly of the Deep Web, and if you can think of it, someone is probably
selling it on the Dark Web, including some illegal, immoral, and just plain
crazy things. So, what do you think is the craziest thing sold on the Dark Web?
Would you ever visit the dark web? Be sure to let us know your thoughts on the
craziest things sold on the Dark Web in the comments?
Comments
Post a Comment