Tips

Here’s a shocker for you: With as little as $1,000, a cyber creep can go to the Dark Web and buy your entire identity. That means they get your Social Security number, bank account info and anything else they need to pose as you — or someone you love — online.

It gets worse

A full identity package can run up to $5,000, depending on the target. Check Point Research found stolen passports can start at $1,000, but a criminal can get their hands on a copy of your actual driver’s license for as low as $200.

It’s not just your identity documents, either. Whizcase gathered prices from Dark Web marketplaces to see how much your online logins are worth, and it’s grim:

• LinkedIn: $45 — The keys to your professional network and your online reputation.
• Facebook: $14 — Years of photos, videos, conversations and private info to anyone who pays up.
• Reddit: $6 — Immediate access to your posts, comments, likes and private convos.

Your online identity is always under attack, and it’s cheaper and easier than ever to hack. Now, combine all the info about you for sale on the Dark Web with what’s being purchased and shared by data brokers and people-search sites, and you’re a prime target for stalkers, identity theft — or worse.

✅ Now is the time to check your passwords (unique for every site, please!) and turn on two-factor authentication everywhere you can. That way, you get an alert if your account is accessed from a new device.

There’s another crucial step you should take now, while you’re thinking about just how much of your info is floating around the web: Get your personal details off the internet.

Try the easy, smart tool I use

Incogni is my online privacy secret weapon. They pull your info from data-broker sites that sell it to anyone willing to pay.

Let me back up a bit and tell you why I even know about Incogni.

After finding my personal cellphone number available on a free people-search site last year, I made it my mission to scrub whatever was online about me. It was like playing Whac-A-Mole. There are literally hundreds of sites that sell personal info, including cellphone numbers, DOBs, physical and email addresses — you name it. These sites make it extremely hard to get your data removed. Why? Because they profit from selling your data and mine.

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