Experian Scans the Dark Web for Your Information

In case you haven’t heard there is such a thing as the dark web, This is the side of the Internet that is not where you want to go. Here is where the child molesters, pedophiles, drug dealers, terrorist, human traffickers and other nasty people go to do business. The dark web is where you buy stolen information among other things. The dark web is aptly named, it is dark, hidden, dangerous and mostly illegal.

The AACR did a report on the dark web and we found that much of the Internet is indeed dark. According to DeepWeb.com only about 4 percent of the information on the web is available to search engines like Google or Yahoo! This is known as the “Visible Web” or “Surface Web.” So if you did the math you can see that 96 percent of information online is hidden from sight.

But now the question must be asked; how much of that information is yours? Your home address, phone number, email address, your social security number, your medical records, you passport number, and who knows what else. Most information you read about as being hacked or stolen ends up on the dark web.

There are ways and methods to scan the dark web for your information. Some legitimate companies and websites are eager to help you find and secure your information. Experian for example is offering to scan the dark web for your email address. The credit reporting company offers this website that will scan the dark web for your email address. The scan takes just a few seconds and the results are emailed to the email address you entered and it is completely free. At least the the email scan is. Experian will scan for your medical records, Social Security number, bank accounts, phone numbers, credit and debit cards, driver’s license and passport for a fee of $9.99 a month. You can try it for 30 days free. Its not a bad deal, and let’s be real, with all the data breaches happening you need to know. 

Now you know.