Overview
- A dark‑web service called Nexus claimed to offer more than 153 million U.S. and Canadian driver’s‑license scans plus millions of other ID and medical documents, and investigators found authentic sample records.
- Researchers including Brian Krebs located their own IDs in the listings and found infrared and ultraviolet images and timestamps that matched when the cards were scanned in person, suggesting near‑real‑time access to a verification provider’s feeds.
- Reporting and public records point to New Orleans–area vendor IDScan.net as the likely source; the company says it is investigating but has not confirmed unauthorized access.
- The FBI’s New Orleans field office has opened an official inquiry into the apparent breach, and Nexus briefly went offline after reporting though copies of the data may still circulate.
- Security experts warn the files make fraud and doxxing easier, especially for vulnerable people, and urge firms to limit ID image retention, adopt privacy‑preserving checks, and for consumers to monitor accounts and consider credit freezes.