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This was asked back in 2011 but I couldn’t add a comment to that post. I have an “identity theft alert” service from Discover.com. The following alert was sent to me (name erased):

We have located your Social Security number on a Dark Web site. Review the date your Social Security number was found as it may have been in the past. Additional Info Review the details of your notification here. First Name

Last Name

Social Security Number *--4120 Potential Site PBINFO.COM Records Found On 09/28/2023 D.O.B. D.O.B. FOUND Found With SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER

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Uhm. Depending on what context it was found in and what it was found with, that may mean absolutely nothing. Social security number is something of a lost cause as an identifier except for the purpose it was originally intended for, tracking your social security taxes so you can eventually claim your benefits.

However, as discussed in many of the scam questions, you can find out a bit by looking at the domain owner record. This says that since 1995, PBINFO.COM has been owned by

PENSION BENEFIT INFORMATION, LLC
333 S 7TH ST STE 2400
Minneapolis MN 55402-2411
+1.612-371-3008
[email protected]

That sounds like someone who might legitimately have your SSN, and if you find them at that address/phone/email I would tend to assume that they aren't a darkweb organization.

If the alert is trying to say that it thinks this is where the darkweb folks stole the info from, and you've quoted it accurately, it's not exactly clearly written. So I'd look Really Carefully to see if the note actually came from Discover, or from someone pretending to be Discover to get you to give them additional info "to help us resolve this."

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    Yeah, that's where they think it leaked from. The SSN as a "secret" is a lost cause, as an identifier it's perfect, which is why everyone is using it.
    – littleadv
    Commented Oct 10, 2023 at 7:28
  • I logged into my discover account directly, not using the link in the text and email. The alert was in my discover account and I did a copy/paste so it was accurate. I agree it’s not a clear message; is Pbinfo.com the dark website vs. Pbinfo was the source that was violated. Thanks.
    – HopeMcCloud
    Commented Oct 10, 2023 at 13:49

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