Vendors on dark web marketplaces are reportedly offering their clients large discounts over Black Friday on their goods, which include drugs, stolen credit cards, hacking tools, and more.
According to a report from The Independent, even a week ahead Black Friday deals are already available on dark web marketplaces, with over 1,600 posts regarding “Black Friday 2019” having already being posted on related forums.
According to data from cyber risk firm Digital Shadows, these posts are offering a range of discounts and perks, which include a 30% discount on all items listed on the dark web marketplace and extra discount to those who spend over $2,000 worth of cryptocurrency in one order.
Alex Guirakhoo, a research analyst at the firm, was quoted as saying:
On dark web marketplaces, Black Friday is an excellent opportunity for site operators to increase sales and attract new buyers. Attracting new customers is particularly important, as consistent law enforcement action and repeated exit scams on popular marketplaces have thrown the ecosystem into disarray.
These types of sales have become common in dark web forums and markets, according to dark web researcher Emily Wilson. Most of the discounts are, however, expected to come during the actual day of Black Friday, and on Cyber Monday.
As a report published earlier this year on cybercrime by the European law enforcement agency Europol showed bitcoin is still the most popular currency on the dark web, despite the growth in popularity of privacy-centric coins like XMR, demand for BTC for illicit purposes could soon rise.
How big commerce is on the dark web right now is hard to say, but it’s likely dropping as authorities have been cracking down on dark web marketplaces. AlphaBay and Hansa, two influential marketplaces, were taken down in 2017, while Wall Street Market shut down in May of this year, in what was believed to be an exit scam.
Another dark web marketplace, Chemical Revolution, was taken down in June of this year.
Featured image by Austin Distel on Unsplash
