US law enforcement officials have shut down a series of websites making $19 million in revenue by selling stolen data. The black market data the websites trafficked in included crucial personal information like stolen Social Security numbers and birthdates. So it’s definitely a big win that this operation was dismantled.
The US Justice Department announced the shutdown of the “SSNDOB Marketplace” websites on June 7. Among other things, the announcement included this shocking detail: The websites were selling around 24 million stolen Social Security numbers. For context, that number exceeds the population of the state of Florida.