How to Access the Black Market: Risks and Safety Measures You Should Know

Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes only. We do not encourage any illegal activity on the dark web.

What is the black market and the dark web?

Before talking about black markets, let’s clear up key definitions of the main layers of the Internet: 

Surface web is the part of the Internet that you can reach freely by standard search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo. news portals, social media platforms, online stores, and other websites – everything where you don’t need special creds or tools to view. 

Deep web includes pages and databases not indexed by search engines, typically because they’re behind logins or other security walls. Those can be private company databases, financial account dashboards, subscription-only content, or student portals. Though the deep web is hidden, it is not illegal. It just isn’t open for everyone to browse freely.

Dark web is an intentionally concealed portion of the Internet that can only be accessed with specialized tools. This is actually a dangerous place with hidden and often illicit activities. Within the hidden realms of the dark web lie multiple black markets — online marketplaces notorious for selling contraband and illegal services. Some key examples of what’s commonly traded there:

• Counterfeit goods like falsified official documents or cracked programs.
• Stolen data, including credit card information, passwords, and personal identifiers.
• Hacking tools also include so-called “services” for launching cyberattacks.
• Pharmaceuticals or restricted substances like drugs that cannot be bought legally.

Some folks may head there to buy goods cheaper than in legal stores instead of visiting eBay, for example. But, to be honest, associated risks far outweigh the perceived gain. We’ll cover it in a bit, but for now, let’s focus on ways users can access the black market. 

Methods to access the black market: a brief look 

There are three ways to reach and explore the dark web’s black markets. But, please, don’t jump in immediately and consider the risks we stated in the next section.  

Tor browser

The Tor (The Onion Router) browser is the most common tool to access the black market. It routes your traffic through a series of volunteer-operated servers, making it very hard for anyone to track your activities. Hard, but not impossible. Savvy and seasoned hackers can find your real IP address if they need it. We don’t recommend careless browsing and clicking on strange shortened URLs, or something that promises unrealistic benefits while surfing the dark web. You can explore Tor’s safety or compare Tor vs VPN for more details before going into the dark web.

Specialized links and directories

You can access the black market by navigating to the right “.onion” addresses. These sites are typically not listed on Google or other search engines. You can find them on private forums, message boards, and communities that work only by invitation. This is also a slippery road because many marketplaces get taken down by law enforcement or replaced by scam sites that can lead to malware or data leakage. 

VPN usage

Finally, most privacy-savvy users fire up a VPN for the dark web before even touching Tor. A VPN can encrypt your Internet traffic and shield it from prying eyes. Why is it crucial? Suppose you connect directly to Tor without an added layer of protection. It is just like telling your Internet service provider and anyone else monitoring your network that you’re using the dark web and can expect attentive observation and even police proceedings after all. 

Will free VPN services be helpful? Though it may seem like an attractive and cost-free solution, free VPNs won’t do the trick because they might sell your personal data for profit instead of truly protecting your privacy. After all, they need to maintain their service somehow, and selling user data to third parties is the route many of them follow.

The dangers of black market browsing

While we were ironic, you may see many “how-to” guides on accessing the black market on the Internet. On a real note, we must say that if you want to visit the black market, proceed with great caution, as many of such tutorials carelessly overlook involved threats. But the one who will pay for outcomes is you.

Here are some threats you could face if you decide to access the black market:

Malware infections

You can easily get those, as dark web marketplaces are a prime hunting ground for many cybercriminals. Once you click the “infected” picture, link, and your device has an installed keylogger or remote access Trojan. The result? Scammers may spy on your phone, and your personal data becomes wide open and free to exploitation. 

Stolen data and identity theft 

If you browse black market just for fun and occasionally register to this marketplace without essential privacy protection, hackers can steal way more than just your login credentials and credit card numbers. They can get your home address, Social Security number, or even medical records, and then sell this data to the ones who can blackmail you, or cause God-knows-what things to happen to you or your relatives. The thing is that even if your data doesn’t get stolen at first, the black market is a revolving door of compromised data. So, it can reappear months or years later. 

Fraud and scams 

Browsing black market may feel like a tickle journey, but the reality is harsh. Black market scams happen around every corner. You can find the software, service or goods you want at an attractive price. Criminals might reel you with “free samples”, special discounts, everything like in normal and legit marketplaces. But once you send hundreds of dollars, they vanish. If you happen to be in such a situation, know there’s no chance of any customer service or reliable dispute system on the dark web. If a deal goes south, you’re on your own, and the money you lost will be impossible to recover.

Legal & ethical consequences

Even if you browse the dark web out of curiosity and are not going to buy or sell anything illegal, the laws in many countries consider the very act of trying to buy illicit substances or stolen data as a potential crime and can result in charges. From the moral side, if you put your money into some illegal transactions, you’re factually funding criminals, from counterfeiters to human traffickers. How would it feel to support scammers who can bring so much harm to society? 

Exposure to harmful content

When you’re on the dark web, you can unknowingly be taken far beyond just places of selling illegal substances or stolen data. You can unintentionally see the explicitly violent and distressing content that is almost always censored or blocked by the reputable “surface” web domains. So, you can come across images, photos, videos, or chatrooms with extreme violence, exploitation, or other disturbing stuff. This kind of content can be mentally scarring, and after such dark web and black market browsing, you can end up with a deep psychological trauma.

How to stay safe when accessing black markets

If you still plan to take the risk and ready to pay for consequences, then enable the highest measures of online protection with the following  recommendations: 

Use only strong passwords & multi-factor authentication

Weak passwords like the date of your birth, “password 123”, and other easy-breezy ones are a criminal’s dream. Make sure you create strong unique passwords for every online account. 

Need a place to store all these complex passwords? Try using tools like password managers like Keeper, Passbolt, 1Password or others. Also, consider multi-factor authentication apps like Authy for an additional layer of security. 

Keep all devices and apps updated

Any outdated software, whether developers want it or not, may have insignificant security loopholes that criminals love to exploit for their profit. Each time there’s a system update offered to you, download and install it, as such patches reduce the chance of your data being compromised. 

Don’t store sensitive information on the same device 

When trying to get access to the black market, it’s a good idea to use a separate computer or a dedicated virtual machine for dark web exploration. This way, even if you end up catching malware, hackers won’t instantly have access to all your personal accounts, docs, and files. 

Even if you have the right tools in place, stay cautious and be mindful of the footprint you leave online. You can pose a risk to your Internet privacy if you share too much about yourself on forums or marketplaces. Remember it’s dark waters.  

Always use a reliable VPN service 

A premium VPN hides your IP address and encrypts your traffic so that scammers cannot identify your location, online identity, and prevent them from tracing the data you enter while browsing the web like logins, passwords, and personal details. Moreover, if you’re on a network with known or suspected vulnerabilities, such as a coffee shop’s open Wi-Fi, never overlook the risks associated with public hotspots. 

Why is VeePN the ultimate online safety solution? 

While we are highly against using VeePN for any malicious activities and don’t encourage you to do it (as stated in our Terms of Service), especially for visiting the black market. Nevertheless, our tool comes with a set of features to safeguard you on the surface web. Here are the VeePN features you will say thanks: 

🛡️ AES 256-bit military-grade encryption. VeePN guarantees that your data is secured by the most reliable encryption standard. If a hacker intercepts your traffic, they will see only gibberish instead of distinctive text and won’t be able to decode it.

🛡️Strict No Logs policy. We respect your privacy and never track or record any details of your online activity. So, be sure that whatever you do on the Internet—browsing, downloading, and other habits — remains completely confidential.

🛡️Anonymous Email feature. Want to hide your real email address? With VeePN, you can create a disposable email and get all messages sent to this genuine inbox. So in the end, hackers will think they’ve got your email, but they will get fooled and you will stay anonymous and safe.

🛡️Data breach scanner. When VeePN detects a data breach on any online service you use, you’ll receive an instant alert so that you can take immediate steps to protect your accounts and data.

🛡️Money-back guarantee. VeePN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee to test all the features for yourself without any risks.

🛡️NetGuard. Download files or browse sketchy sites without worries, as the NetGuard malware blocker helps keep malicious software and other threats at bay.
VeePN goes far beyond traditional VPN services, offering a full-fledged antivirus suite and an Alternative ID function to boost your privacy. It’s a complete security package that covers up to 10 devices with a single subscription. Give it a try and choose the pricing plan that will make a difference for you.

Written by Oliver Bennett Oliver Bennett is a dedicated cyber security content writer with a knack for breaking down intricate cyber topics into accessible and actionable insights.

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