A perfect example is a site that stores the details of 75 million US citizens

Sep 17, 2012 08:56 GMT  ·  By

It’s clear by now that there are a lot of websites that sell the stolen identities of unsuspecting individuals. While most of the sensitive information they offer – such as social security numbers and driver’s license details – comes from hacked websites or clever schemes that rely on social engineering, there appears to be another source.

According to security journalist Brian Krebs, payday loan sites also contribute to the massive amount of information held by underground services that sell the details of US citizens. Some of them might have been compromised, while others may be knowingly participating in malicious schemes.

After analyzing a site that claims to offer social security numbers, mother maiden names, email addresses, physical addresses, birth dates, and driver license details belonging to 75 million US citizens from various states, Krebs noticed that there was a connection between some of the victims.

Before their information ended up on the fraud websites, many of the victims attempted to contract the services of companies that claimed to offer payday loans.

Shortly after providing her details on such a website, one of the victims started receiving phone calls from a collection agency. They were asking her to pay back some loans that she never actually took.

In some cases, the shady firm’s representatives posed as police, and they even threatened her.

As Krebs highlights, many of these companies are illegal and should be avoided at all cost. Payday loans taken from a company you randomly found online is certainly a bad idea and unfortunately, not many people seem to be aware of this.

The aforementioned website has around 330,000 records obtained from such sites, which means that many individuals have been tricked into handing over their details.

It doesn’t matter if you’re looking for a loan, pharmaceutical products, or a couch for your living room. Always be careful what information you hand over, or your identity might end up being put up for sale for a few cents.