Following the digital trail: what happens to data stolen in a phishing attack

Phishing data becomes a commodity almost immediately after capture, with the article noting that 88.5% of attacks aim to steal credentials for online accounts, 9.5% target personal data, and 2% seek banking details. Data harvested via phishing pages is transmitted by email, Telegram bot, or automated administration panels, and attackers sometimes use legitimate services such as Google Forms or GitHub to harvest or store what they collect, before feeding it into unified databases for analysis.

The stolen information then flows into dark web markets and Telegram storefronts, where data dumps can be sold from as little as $50 and later sorted, verified, and repurposed for new attacks, including targeted and multi‑stage campaigns. Prices on the markets vary by category, with banks averaging around $350, crypto platforms $105, and personal documents about $15, among others, according to data provided by Kaspersky Digital Footprint Intelligence.

The article emphasises that stolen data can remain valuable for months or years and be used in subsequent breaches, blackmail, or identity theft, making Protective steps like unique passwords and multi‑factor authentication essential.