Compromised Accounts: Still Big Money for Scammers in 2025
- defenddigital
- Dec 30, 2025
- 3 min read
Even in late 2025, compromised login credentials remain a lucrative commodity on criminal marketplaces — especially because password reuse is still commonplace among consumers and employees. That means cybercriminals still make real money exploiting old breaches and vulnerable accounts.
According to the latest research by Digital Shadows, over 15 billion stolen credentials are circulating on the dark web and underground forums — pulled from hundreds of thousands of data breaches worldwide. TechTarget
These credentials aren’t given away for free in all cases. Many are actively bought and sold, with values that vary widely depending on the type of account:
Average compromised account: ~$15 on the dark web
Bank & financial service logins: ~$70.91 on average
Some high-value admin or privileged accounts can go much higher depending on access level and freshness of the breach. TechTarget
Read the full Digital Shadows research here:🔗 From Exposure to Takeover: The 15 Billion Stolen Credentials Study — Digital Shadows Report (hyperlinked) TechTarget
Why Scammers Still Make Money
Password Reuse Fuels the Market
Despite years of warnings, many people reuse the same password across multiple sites — meaning a breach of even one service can expose dozens of accounts. Criminals take advantage of this with a tactic called credential stuffing, where they test stolen usernames and passwords everywhere they can. BlazeGuard
Accounts Have Real Financial Value
Financial accounts and admin logins are far more valuable than streaming or social media accounts. Once scammers have access to a bank or investment portal, they can:
Transfer funds directly
Sell access to other criminals
Use the account for money laundering or fraud schemes
This is why stolen credentials still sell for tens to hundreds of dollars per record — and much more for privileged access. TechTarget
The Broader Financial Impact
It’s not just the price of stolen credentials that matters — compromised accounts have serious financial implications for both businesses and individuals:
Businesses
Account takeover attacks cost companies millions in losses, fraud remediation, and reputation damage.
With attackers leveraging stolen credentials and automated bots, organizations face high volumes of login attempts every week. WifiTalents
Individuals
Scammers can empty bank accounts or redirect funds to wallets they control.
Identity thieves can use leaked credentials to open new accounts, take out loans, or socially engineer additional data from victims.
Even non-financial accounts can provide footholds that later escalate into serious breaches.
In fact, the FBI reported hundreds of millions of dollars stolen in account takeover scams in 2025 alone — a clear indicator that crime hasn’t slowed down. TechRadar
What You Can Do Now
Compromised accounts are one of the easiest ways for attackers to get into your digital life — but there are proven ways to protect yourself:
Use unique passwords for every account
Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) everywhere possible
Use a reputable password manager
Monitor the dark web for compromised credentials tied to your email
The Bottom Line
Even in 2025, with all our talk about AI and zero-trust security models, cybercriminals are still profiting heavily from compromised accounts — mostly because people reuse passwords and organizations fail to protect credentials properly. The market for stolen logins isn’t going away; it’s evolving and growing.
If you want a deeper explanation of how scammers exploit these weaknesses — and exact steps to lock down your own accounts — I can help you turn this into a longer guide or series. Just let me know!
Ironjaw Cybersecurity
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