FBI Shuts Down Marketplace Selling 24 Million Social Security Numbers
The websites made about $19 million in revenue from selling SSNs, names and dates of birth.
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The FBI targeted a marketplace selling more than 20 million SSNs.
The FBI, Department of Justice and Internal Revenue Service have shut down a series of websites that they allege were selling 24 million Social Security Numbers, names and dates of birth of people living in the US.
The SSNDOB Marketplace made about $19 million in revenue while it operated, according to an announcement from the agencies Tuesday.
Working with local police in Cyprus and Latvia, the FBI, DOJ and IRS executed seizure orders on June 7 against four domain names associated with the SSNDOB Marketplace.
"Identity theft can have a devastating impact on a victim's long-term emotional and financial health," Darrell Waldon, a special agent with the IRS' Criminal Investigation agency, said in a statement. "Taking down the SSNDOB website disrupted ID theft criminals and helped millions of Americans whose personal information was compromised."
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