FBI Investigates Dark Web Sale of Millions of US, Canada Driver’s Licenses

The FBI said Wednesday it was investigating a report that tens of millions of drivers' licenses belonging to people in the United States and Canada were being sold on the dark web. The alleged breach could expose sensitive government-issued identification documents on an unprecedented scale, potentially increasing the risk of identity theft and fraud.

The investigation follows a report by independent journalist Brian Krebs, who said he discovered a dark web site offering digital scans of millions of drivers' licenses from the US and Canada, Reuters reported. Krebs said he confirmed the authenticity of the data being offered for sale with nine people. Minneapolis Shooting: 2 Killed, Several Injured at Downtown Apartment Building (Video).

FBI Investigates Reported Data Sale

In a brief statement on Wednesday, the bureau said it was “looking into the incident” but could not comment “due to the ⁠ongoing nature of the investigation.” The FBI has not confirmed the number of documents involved or identified the source of the allegedly stolen information.

If confirmed, the incident could rank among the largest exposures of government-issued identity documents in North America. The scale of the reported data could create significant risks for identity theft, financial fraud and other forms of misuse involving personal identification information. US Park Shooting: Police Officer Killed, Another Injured While Responding to Domestic Dispute.

How The Dark Web Site Was Discovered

Krebs said he was alerted to the site after it was advertised on a Russian cybercrime forum. According to Krebs, his own driver's license was being offered as a free sample, prompting him to investigate the service.

The site, dubbed Nexus, claimed to have tens of millions of drivers' licenses belonging to people in the US and Canada. Krebs also reported that the service claimed to possess millions of other identification cards and travel documents, along with hundreds of thousands of medical records.

He said the site appeared to be updating its database of stolen information in real time. That detail raised the possibility that the alleged data source could be an ongoing breach rather than a static collection of previously stolen records.

Researcher Calls Scale Unprecedented

Zach Edwards, a threat researcher at cybersecurity company Infoblox, said the incident was unprecedented in terms of its sweep. "There's never ​been a breach ⁠of driver's licenses at this scale," said Edwards, who added that his own license was available for sale on the site.

Edwards said the ongoing nature of the breach "means that this attack created ​legitimate national ⁠security risks for high-profile individuals." The comments underscore concerns that a large-scale exposure of identity documents could affect not only ordinary consumers but also people whose identities and personal information could have greater security implications. However, the source and authenticity of the complete database have not been established independently.

Source Of Stolen Data Remains Unclear

Reuters could not establish the source of the stolen data. Krebs quoted a representative of New Orleans-based identity verification provider IDScan.net as saying that it was investigating the matter.

IDScan.net, ⁠which ​describes itself as providing "ID fraud prevention at scale," did ​not return repeated messages from Reuters. At this stage, it remains unclear whether the alleged data originated from a single organization, multiple sources or an ongoing compromise affecting an identity-verification or related service.

Dark Web Site Disappears

Krebs said the dark web site offering the driver's license data vanished shortly after ​he published his report. The disappearance could make it more difficult for researchers and authorities to examine the database directly and establish how much information was actually available.

The FBI's investigation is now focused on determining the circumstances behind the reported sale and whether a broader data breach occurred. Until investigators establish the source and scope of the information, the reported figure of tens of millions of drivers' licenses remains an allegation rather than a confirmed count.

Potential Risks For Individuals

Drivers' licenses contain sensitive personal information that can be used in attempts to impersonate individuals or facilitate fraudulent activity.

A large-scale exposure could therefore have consequences beyond the immediate sale of the documents, particularly if the information is combined with other stolen personal data.

Cybersecurity researchers say the reported scale makes the investigation significant, but the full impact will depend on what information was actually obtained, how it was collected and whether it remains accessible elsewhere.

The FBI has not provided additional details while the investigation remains ongoing.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 03, 2026 09:30 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).