November 26, 2008
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News: CC Black Market Thrives.
An alternative market is thriving with a $5.3 billion potential. At least one market is doing well. To bad it's the wrong one. This would be the wholesale stolen credit card market. Stolen credit card accounts are available online now, with prices as low as ten cents a piece, when bought in the giant economy size package. These market figures just in, as of Nov. 24. The Symantec Corp, known widely for their electronic security and protective technologies are reporting the liquid assets for this large market may only be $276 million, but the potential is far greater. If all of these stolen credit cards were to maxed out by thieves, the amount would reach about $5.3 billion.
The offerings from the shelf include owner passwords, toolkits for hacking, personal bank account credentials and various credit card secure information, all at different price levels. Discounts and free numbers are available for criminals who purchase stolen credit card information in volume. The most lucrative sales are the versatile credit card products. These figures cover the fiscal period from July of 2007 through June of this year. These outlets were discovered on various Web forums and chat channels over the Internet.
One might expect to find the pirate severs housing this industry to be located in safe-haven countries like the Republic of Lower Slobovia or something like that. The big surprise is that the lion's share were found right here at home. Forty-five percent of them were discovered to be in North America, while the next highest percentage, at 38 percent, was divided between Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Asia and the Pacific played a minor part, dividing 12 percent between them. To protect their cover and evade detection, however, these virtual servers are not kept long in the same geographical area. The servers are constantly changing locations.