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Illegal online platforms operating on the dark web are selling personal information of millions of Turkish citizens for as little as $12 (₺500). A recent investigation exposed how organized crime networks profit from stolen data in Türkiye.
These “panel systems” function as underground marketplaces where hackers and criminal networks compile and sell data obtained from leaks or breaches, according to Sabah.
The platforms are mainly used by organized crime groups and have become one of Türkiye’s fastest-expanding cybercrime tools.
The pricing structure is openly defined:
Membership costs between $14 and $24, allowing users to access vast pools of illegally gathered data.
Investigators say the information is used not only for fraud and identity theft but also for blackmail and targeted physical attacks.
To demonstrate how easily such access is obtained, Sabah reporters contacted a seller via Telegram and purchased a one-month membership for $14.
The seller said a single search by name or phone number could reveal full addresses, property titles, and debt records.
They also admitted that Turkish police routinely shut down panels, though new ones appear quickly, making enforcement difficult. “We cannot guarantee one-month access because the system may be closed anytime,” the seller reportedly told the journalist.
The report recalled the recent arrest of Tugrulhan Dip, a Turkish lawyer accused of selling citizens’ personal data to Israel’s foreign intelligence agency, Mossad, using one of these panels.
Cyber forensics expert Isa Altun said the misuse of personal data now poses both financial and physical threats.
He cited the murder of lawyer Serdar Oktem, whose information was reportedly accessed from an illegal database before the attack. “This is no longer a digital crime; it directly endangers human life,” Altun said.
Cyber forensics expert Altun called personal data “the new oil” of the criminal economy, saying that information belonging to nearly 130 million Turkish citizens has been leaked from hacked institutions, courier firms, pharmacies, NGOs, and even public offices.
“These confidential records are traded as valuable assets in the crime economy,” he said, adding that the illegal market has built its own pricing model for every type of personal information. Although Turkish authorities have shut down hundreds of such panels, thousands remain active on the dark web.
Altun warned that criminals now view identity details as currency, and said protecting that information is the only way citizens can stay ahead of the threat.
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