Cybercriminals today operate sophisticated businesses built around stealing and monetising data. Your personal and business data is a valuable commodity and the underground economy is booming. Infostealer malware is snatching data on a vast scale as Malware-as-a-Service platforms make data theft easy and cheap.
What types of data do cybercriminals steal?
Cybercriminals steal and trade in various types of information
Personal information: The foundation of identity theft
Identity fraud is built on basic personal details. For example, names, addresses, dates of birth, and social security numbers.
Criminals use this information to commit various types of fraud. For example, opening accounts or applying for loans or credit under a false identity. They can hijack the identity of a real person or construct a fake persona by combining real and false details. This is known as synthetic identity fraud.
Complete personal profiles can sell for hundreds of dollars per record, depending on their accuracy and freshness.
Financial data: Direct routes to profit
Credit card details and bank account numbers offer immediate monetisation opportunities.
Stolen credit card details are sold in bulk. Although their obvious use is making fraudulent purchases, they can also provide a starting point for phishing and identity theft.
Corporate data: High-value targets
Stolen business information can be sold to competitors or used to extort a ransom from the victim. Targets for theft can include intellectual property, trade secrets, and customer databases.
Breaches at major companies such as Ticketmaster have exposed millions of customer records, which were quickly traded and used for fraudulent purchases and phishing scams.
Another risk is the leakage of employee information. For example, in data breaches at third-party websites or social media platforms. Company email addresses and details of job roles, projects, or teams can be fuel for spear-phishing, whaling, or Business Email Compromise (BEC) scams. A breach at another company can quickly become an entry point into your corporate network.
Monetisation tactics used by cybercriminals: How stolen data is bought and sold
Stolen data fuels a sophisticated underground industry. The trade spans multiple platforms and communication channels designed to maximise profits and evade law enforcement:
- Dark web marketplaces: These resemble legitimate e-commerce sites. They provide listings that describe the data type, its quality, and the quantity available. Prices vary based on demand and exclusivity. Data can be auctioned, bundled, or offered through subscription models.
- Invitation-only forums: Both dark and the surface web host criminal forums open to invited or referred participants only. These are hotspots for trading high-value or specialised data.
- Encrypted messaging apps: Platforms such as Telegram and Discord host invitation-only channels where stolen data is advertised, sampled, and sold, often in real time.
- Direct peer-to-peer deals: Some of the highest-value transactions are done between cybercriminals privately.
“As the internet has evolved over the last 20 years, so have the criminal marketplaces for stolen personal data,” says Colin Holder, senior analyst at Cybercheck and a former New Scotland Yard Detective.
“They’ve gone from small, amateur forums and so-called carding shops to a mature, professionalised economy with multiple sales channels and services that make data theft fast, cheap, and scalable. Criminals mirror legitimate commercial websites with the ability to advertise, sample and sell data in real time to many buyers.”
The lifecycle of stolen data
After a breach, the hackers check the data for accuracy before listing it for sale, sometimes within hours. Speed is key because fresh data is most valuable. The buyers use the data directly or sell it on, creating cascading effects that multiply the risk.
The same data can be repackaged and sold again later. Cybercriminals can combine it with records from other breaches to compile massive combolists. These are sold on and used to facilitate credential stuffing and phishing campaigns. With each new round of bundling and resale, the price drops, but the data becomes more widespread and accessible to a broader range of attackers.
This means that even old information can pose a threat to businesses and individuals long after the original data breach.
The real-world impact of stolen data
If data about your organisation falls into criminal hands, you could face a serious cyber attack. The consequences can include financial losses, operational disruption, reputational damage, and regulatory sanctions. According to IBM, the global average cost of a data breach in 2025 is $4.4 million.
Protecting your organisation against the threat from stolen data
Cybercrime never sleeps, and threats are evolving at unprecedented speed. However, a proactive security strategy can keep your organisation safe. Proactive credential monitoring and response are essential.
Cyber threat intelligence solutions such as Cybercheck provide an early warning system. Our analysts infiltrate and monitor the criminal platforms, forums, and channels where stolen data is exchanged. If cybercriminals are trading information about you or your organisation, our credential monitoring solution detects it and alerts you. That means you can change your passwords, block your cards, and shut out potential attackers, before they make you their next victim.
