Dark web monitoring, sometimes known as cyber monitoring, is a service which will scan the dark web for you and check if any details on your identity might be found on there. The dark web of course is the part of the internet that is “beneath the surface”. These sites can’t be found on normal search engines and don’t use traditional url addresses either.
To get on to the dark web, a special type of browser is used. This type of browser allows the user to connect to the websites on the dark web anonymously, without any exchange of ip addresses, making it a hotbed for illegal dealings. Some browsers even route the connection through dozens and dozens of different ‘nodes’ around the globe, making it near impossible to track the original user.
Your Identity Could be Available for Sale on the Dark Web
Of course some of the dealings which go on here involve sale of illegal goods. While there are much scarier things available, identities are also regularly sold, and this can hugely affect you. Once your identity has been sold, it’s likely the seller will be very difficult to catch. The person buying and using your identity may run up massive debts in your name, steal your savings and absolutely demolish your credit score.
There are already more than 17 million US citizens suffering identity theft each year, a number bigger than what most would expect. With victims of identity theft having to face a long, difficult process to put their credit score right and recoup any losses, it’s better to try and avoid the situation all together, keeping your identity safe and away from thieves.
Most People Lack the Knowledge to Check the Dark Web for this Information
The tempting thing to do is check for your own info on the dark web. Doing so would be pointless though. For starters, many of the sites and market places where these transactions occur are extremely difficult to find. You won’t stumble across them or be able to search them out, so you’re likely to miss what you’re looking for. Beyond that, you might find identity sellers but have no way to check what actual identities they’re offering without buying from them – and one thing you definitely don’t want to do is talk about your identity openly on the dark web!
The way around this is to use a good dark web data monitoring service, they can track the largest part of the dark web, and with the most detail, keeping your identity safe.
It’s Often Free or Cheap Anyway!
The final reason you should use dark web monitoring? Because many providers will now offer this service as either a free add-on to other services, or at a very cheap rate. Some credit card providers are already offering it as an add-on, as are many credit score and identity search services. Most people already use at least one of these services, so it shouldn’t be difficult to add dark web monitoring and keep yourself safe!
