The Dangers of Using the Dark Web

Naveen Verma
WebEagle
Published in
3 min readJun 28, 2018

Dark web, as the name suggests, is something that sounds mysterious and dangerous. Although most of the people don’t know about the dark web, it is still heavily used by a surprisingly large number of hackers and scammers.

These malicious individuals use special software like TOR to access the website on the dark web that is not accessible by the regular browsers like Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. They perform most of their illegal online activities on the dark web.

However, the dark web brings a lot of dangers with it. The scammers and fraudsters usually scam people who use the dark web. This post shares some of the risks of using the dark web:

You can be Penalized.

Using specialized software like TOR to access the dark web does not mean that you are completely anonymous. The dark web may not be illegal; but, browsing an illegal website is a crime in many countries. Even if you are using a site containing illegal content, like weapons or drugs, for gaining some informational , you can be penalized by the law of your state.

Hackers may Track you.

Source: Wikimedia

If you are not entirely anonymous while using the dark web, other users can monitor your activities easily. Hackers and scammers may take advantage, and present you with various lucrative offers related to the things in which you are interested. They may steal your identity and financial details, and misuse them to take away your money and for illegal activities.

Illegal Trading on Marketplaces

Trading of legal as well as illegal goods takes place on the dark web marketplaces. Buying and selling on these marketplaces are not only challenging, but also not authentic. The seller can suddenly disappear after you make a payment for buying goods. You end up without receiving the products for which you made the payment.

Trading the legal goods might lead to the loss of money; however, if you are trying to buy or sell illegal products, you can be tracked and penalized by the law.

The Risk of Phishing

Phishing means that you access emails and websites that seem to be from the legitimate sites like the website of your bank. Such emails and websites usually steal your financial details like the credit card and debit card details. They use them on the original sites to take the funds from your bank accounts and online wallets.

Phishing activities are very popular on the dark web. Such events often take place on the sites dealing in trading bit-coins and cryptocurrencies.

One of the most popular phishing techniques is receiving an email from a legitimate site, saying that the website has been shut down due to technical issues. The email redirects you to the new website and asks you to use the same login details. When you do it, they steal your login details and misuse them.

Final Words

The above-given points are only a handful of the dangers of using the dark web. There are many known and unknown dangers that can put the dark web users in serious trouble at any time. It is better to use the internet security services like WebEagle to stay safe while you are online.

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Naveen Verma
WebEagle

A Digital Marketing Expert born with love for technology. Loves to Write, Travel and explore the world of new opportunities.