Source: Fox News · 2026-09-15 · Original article ↗

153 million driver's license scans may be on the dark web

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

You handed the card to rent a car. A dark-web stall sold the scan.

Summary

  • Fox News reports a dark-web service called Nexus claimed more than 153 million U.S. and Canadian driver's-license records, plus more than 10 million ID cards, over 3 million travel documents, and at least 579,000 medical cards. The 153 million figure is Nexus's own claim and is not confirmed as unique people.
  • KrebsOnSecurity said Nexus appeared on the Russian-language forum Exploit on August 31 and advertised documents covering more than 170 million people in North America. A blank search returned about 11.5 million pages at roughly 15 records each. The license total rose by nearly 400,000 in about 24 hours while Brian Krebs watched.
  • Krebs found his own Virginia license offered as a free sample, with front, back, infrared, and ultraviolet images. Timestamps for nine people matched travel days, including a Hertz counter after airport security. Researcher Zach Edwards tied his scan to a Planet 13 dispensary in Las Vegas.
  • Louisiana identity firm IDScan.net, a 2022 Planet 13 partner, acknowledged a cloud incident that may have exposed names and license numbers and is offering credit monitoring. It has not confirmed Nexus came from its systems. The FBI told Reuters on September 2 it is looking into the incident. The Nexus site later went dark.

Commentary

A night-shift dad still keeps a license in a cracked wallet and knows a scan at a rental desk is supposed to prove he can drive, not stock a Russian stall. He did not stand in that Hertz line so a stranger could buy his face.

August 31 listing. 400,000 new scans in a day. FBI on September 2. The honest household already paid the DMV. The linoleum at the rental counter still shines.

Look every working father who still slides a card across a counter in the eye and answer this: if a rental scan can land on Exploit, who still owns the next image that desk keeps after you leave?

Comments

If a Hertz scan can land on Exploit, who still owns the next image that desk keeps?
u/border_dad · 5h

Nexus. 153 million claimed. FBI September 2. Keep that order.

u/midwest_vet · 4h

I stood a line so a license still meant a road test. A dark-web stall is not a backup drive.

u/rule_first · 4h

Krebs sample. Hertz timestamps. IDScan.net incident. Print the three.

u/tokyo_ally · 3h

Allied counters still delete a scan when the keys go back.

u/docket_rat · 3h

Exploit Aug. 31. 400,000 in 24 hours. Site later dark. File the three.

u/night_shift · 2h

I still clock a dock at 2 a.m. I want the next rental scan gone when I drive off.

u/texas_mom · 90m

A face and address on a criminal stall is not a glitch. It is a warning the street already paid.

u/gulf_watch · 55m

A kept rental scan is a second border around a kitchen table. The first retention limit should have been enough.

u/press_clip · 30m

Fox printed Nexus, Krebs, and the FBI line. Argue those nouns. The 153 million is still a vendor claim.

u/soc_lead · 15m

Freeze the credit. Audit the scanners. A license photo is not inventory.

Paraphrased comments. Not attributed.

More from this rōnin

Stories → Discoveries → Books → Buy me a coffee →
A Samurai Loose in Modern America Volume Two cover
New release: Volume Two — 100 stories
A Samurai Loose in Modern America — Volume Two. One hundred later field reports.
See on Amazon → NEW
NOBUNAGA samurai icon
⚔️ A hundred misunderstandings, properly bound.
Every misadventure with America, gathered together and footnoted with afterwords.
Behold the collection →
NOBUNAGA icon
One hand draws, one hand writes, and the tea has gone cold.
If you smiled even once, a coffee helps the next story get made.
☕ Treat the samurai to a coffee