FBI investigates sale of more than 153 million driving licence scans online

A dark web marketplace has been reported selling scans of more than 153 million driving licences, including documents from the United States and Canada. The material was being offered on a platform identified as Nexus, according to a cybercrime researcher who found the listings. The apparent breach has prompted an FBI investigation into an identity verification provider, IDScan.net.

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The reported trove was first identified on Monday, when a sample of stolen driving licences was shared on a Russian cybercrime forum. A post accompanying the material said the data had been continuously exfiltrated for more than a year into a private database. The same reporting said another 400,000 licence scans were uploaded to Nexus the following day, before the site later returned an error page.

The listings reportedly allowed buyers to preview records with some details redacted, then pay to unlock the full file. The unlocked records were said to include a driver's name, home address, date of birth and a full scan of the document. Some entries also included front and back images of the licence, along with infrared and ultraviolet versions of the same images.

The scale of the alleged exposure makes the case significant for both personal security and identity fraud. Driving licences are widely used as identity documents, and scans can be reused in attempts to open accounts, pass verification checks or impersonate victims. The reporting also said the dataset included scans linked to public figures, as well as family members and acquaintances of the researcher who found the material.

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The incident also raises questions about the security of identity verification systems, which often store large volumes of sensitive documents for customer checks. According to the reporting, the FBI told the researcher it had launched an investigation into an apparent breach involving IDScan.net. The company was not quoted in the supplied material, and the extent of any compromise has not been independently confirmed in the rows provided.

What remains unclear is how the data was obtained, how many people are affected in total, and whether the records were taken directly from one company or assembled from multiple sources. It is also not known whether the marketplace still has access to the material after the reported error page appeared. The next developments to watch are any confirmation from investigators, any statement from the company named in the report, and whether affected individuals are advised to take protective steps.

#drivinglicences #databreach #FBI #identitytheft #cybercrime