NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED FEDERAL LAWYERS
How serious is selling SSN on darknet
|Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group. We’re a second-generation law firm managed by Todd Spodek – who has many, many, years of experience handling complex federal criminal cases. With over 40 years of combined experience across our team, we’ve represented clients in cases that made national headlines – like the Anna Delvey case that became a Netflix series, the Ghislaine Maxwell juror misconduct matter, and allegations involving Alec Baldwin. If you’re reading this, you’re probably facing serious federal exposure related to darknet activity, and you need to understand exactly what the government can do to you.
Selling social security numbers on the darknet isn’t just serious – it’s the kind of federal crime that destroys lives. We’re talking mandatory prison time, massive financial penalties, and federal prosecutors who treat these cases like organized crime. The feds don’t care if you sold ten SSNs or ten thousand. Once you’re in their crosshairs, you’re looking at charges that stack mandatory minimums on top of guideline ranges that already put you in prison for years.
Multiple Federal Statutes Mean Multiple Charges
When federal agents arrest someone for selling SSNs on the darknet, they don’t charge you with one crime. They charge you with everything they can prove. 18 U.S.C. § 1028 covers fraud and related activity in connection with identification documents and information – that’s your base charge for trafficking in stolen identity information. But prosecutors almost never stop there.
18 U.S.C. § 1028A is where it gets brutal. That’s aggravated identity theft, and it carries a mandatory consecutive 2-year prison sentence. Consecutive means it runs after whatever other sentence you get, not at the same time. If the judge gives you 6 years on the underlying fraud charge, you’re doing 8 years total – no exceptions, no judicial discretion to run it concurrent.
Then there’s 18 U.S.C. § 1029 – fraud and related activity in connection with access devices. Social Security numbers qualify as access devices under federal law. Violations under subsections (a)(4), (5), (8), or (9) carry up to 15 years in federal prison. That’s not a guideline recommendation, that’s the statutory maximum. Prosecutors use that 15-year exposure as leverage to force guilty pleas.
Wire fraud. Conspiracy to commit access device fraud. Money laundering if you moved the proceeds. The charges stack and stack until your exposure is measured in decades, not years.
Real Cases Show Real Consequences
In November 2023, Vitalii Chychasov got 8 years in federal prison for running SSNDOB Marketplace – a darknet site that sold personal information including Social Security numbers belonging to millions of Americans. The marketplace generated over $19 million in sales revenue. Chychasov also agreed to a forfeiture money judgment of $5 million, representing proceeds of the fraud.
Think about that. Eight years in federal prison – that means serving at least 85% of the sentence under current federal law. No early parole. And the $5 million forfeiture means the government takes everything. Your Bitcoin wallets, your cars, your house if you own one, your bank accounts. They seize it all and sell it at auction.
In 2024, federal prosecutors charged Alex Khodyrev and Pavel Kublitskii for operating WWH-Club, a darknet marketplace that facilitated the sale of bank account information and sensitive personal information. If convicted, both men face maximum sentences of 20 years in federal prison.
The feds don’t just go after the marketplace operators. If you’re a vendor on one of these platforms, you’re exposed too. Federal agents infiltrate these markets, they make controlled purchases, they track cryptocurrency transactions across multiple wallets. When they finally move, they arrest dozens of people at once.
What Prosecutors Actually Prove at Trial
Federal prosecutors in these cases don’t need to prove you personally stole the SSNs. They just need to prove you knowingly trafficked in stolen identity information. That means if you bought a database of SSNs from someone else and resold them on the darknet, you’re just as guilty as the person who hacked the database in the first place.
Conspiracy charges are particularly dangerous. Under federal conspiracy law, you’re responsible for all reasonably foreseeable acts committed by your co-conspirators in furtherance of the conspiracy. So if you’re part of a darknet marketplace that sold SSNs, credit card numbers, and bank logins, you can be held responsible for the entire scope of the operation – even if you personally only sold SSNs.
The government proves these cases with undercover purchases, cryptocurrency blockchain analysis, server seizures, and cooperating witnesses. Higher loss amounts drive up your offense level under the federal sentencing guidelines – and darknet marketplaces almost always trigger the sophisticated means enhancement and organized crime enhancement. Those alone can add 4-6 levels to your guideline range, which translates to years of additional prison time.
The 2025 Enforcement Landscape
Federal enforcement against darknet identity theft operations has intensified significantly in 2025. The National Public Data breach leaked approximately 138 million Social Security numbers to the darknet, and federal prosecutors are aggressively pursuing anyone caught trafficking in that stolen data.
As of August 2025, Social Security numbers are selling on the darknet for as low as $6, while full identity packages (“fullz”) containing name, SSN, date of birth, and other personal information sell for $20 to $100. The low prices reflect massive oversupply from recent data breaches, but they don’t reduce your criminal exposure. Selling one SSN for $6 carries the same federal charges as selling a thousand SSNs for $100 each.
Federal prosecutors are also targeting buyers in 2025, not just sellers. If you purchased SSNs on the darknet with intent to commit fraud, you’re facing the same aggravated identity theft charges as the vendor who sold them to you.
What You Should Do If You’re Under Investigation
If federal agents contact you – whether through a knock on your door, a grand jury subpoena, or a target letter from a prosecutor – do not talk to them without a lawyer. Federal agents are trained to extract incriminating statements during “informal” conversations. They’ll tell you this is just a preliminary inquiry, that you’re not a target, that they just need to clear up a few questions. If you’re contacted by federal agents investigating darknet activity, you are a target. Anything you say will be used against you in a criminal prosecution.
At Spodek Law Group – we understand that federal investigations are terrifying. Our criminal defense attorneys have represented clients in complex federal cases involving wire fraud, identity theft, and darknet marketplace operations. We know how federal prosecutors build these cases, we know the sentencing guidelines inside and out, and we know how to negotiate plea agreements that minimize prison time and financial penalties.
Unlike other law firms who focus on their relationships with prosecutors and judges, our only loyalty is to our clients. We fight for the best possible outcome in every case, regardless of how challenging the facts are. Many of the cases we’re famous for handling – are cases that others say were unwinnable. If you’re facing federal charges related to selling SSNs on the darknet, call us. We’re available 24/7, and we handle federal cases nationwide.