The little box of terror
PUSHING BOUNDARIES: Social media stars are taking an old viral video trend and pushing it to a new and dangerous level. to drugs from the untraceable boxes.
Anything bought on the dark web is done with cryptocurrency – the only untraceable way to pay for things.
Sometimes the “mystery box” sellers can have profiles and reviews but the entire process is completely anonymous.
On the dark web, the boxes retail anywhere between $100 to $1000, with some YouTubers even throwing in an extra bit of cash to try and sweeten the deal and heighten the creepiness.
In some videos, YouTubers tell their audience they regret getting the box sent to their home address, others express relief that they had it delivered to a PO box.
Then, they film themselves going through the contents.
Most of the time, the YouTubers end their videos disappointed and disgusted with what’s inside – one person was even sent a completely empty box. The untraceable nature of the whole thing means YouTubers are putting more than just their faith and few hundred dollars in dark web sellers.
Realistically, staging any of these videos is entirely possible. But for the YouTubers really ordering mystery boxes off the dark web, the trend has fast become one of the most dangerous to sweep the internet.
Any device people are using to surf the internet underbelly is susceptible to hackers, tech experts and people up to no good.
Griffith University adjunct professor Bill Caelli spoke to news.com.au about the dark web and how sellers are known to target their customers.
“One trend that we have been noticing is that the people running these dark web domains will try and attack the people who use them and take over their machines and use them to further their activities,” he said.
“So even though these people are their customers, even they are not safe from being attacked.”
And while most YouTubers laugh off wasting hundreds of dollars on a box full of junk, what a lot of them don’t realise is where or to who their cryptocurrency is going.
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