Hackers advertise their nefarious services to potential customers for as little as $90 for Gmail and $350 to access a target's Facebook account, reports The Daily Mail.
However it's a sliding scale based on the complexity of the hack, with hackers charging as much as $2,000 for a 'generic website', according to Business Insider, which also notes that a stranger's Netflix account can be had for as little as $1.25. The latter even offers a one month warranty, after which time you're presumably on your own should the hacked TV enthusiast change their password.
Business Insider explains that most 'hackers for hire' are found on Reddit-style forums, hawking their wares. One such forum provides a tool that promises to hack Facebook with three months' usage costing $19.99. The tool makes the bold claim that it can "hack into any Facebook" using "multiple methods of hacking," but like most of these nefarious adverts, details are left deliberately scant.
HackRead also notes that Hilton HHonors points - subject to a high profile vulnerability exposure earlier this year - is in hackers' sights, with individual accounts going for as low as $3 per time.
Even the gaming of Yelp reviews is a popular service, with hackers offering astroturfed reviews for $3 - or even a month-long service to ensure the bad reviews are sidelined for a steeper $350. WhatsApp is another popular target, with HackRead claiming that such a hack can cost $200-$300.
Ethical concerns aside, hiring a hacker is clearly a risky business - as Sebastián Bortnik wrote for We Live Security back in February, "Why wouldn’t the person we are asking to perform a “malicious” action turn against us for more money?"
"Hiring someone for these kind of activities will always be risky, and I would always advise caution because in the end, the party liable for the actions could be you, and many of these actions could comfortably constitute a criminal offense," he added.
