Stolen credit card numbers sell for as little as 10 cents while online underground economy booms

(25/11/2008)

According to Symantec Corp's Report on the Underground Economy, the online underground economy has matured into an efficient, global marketplace in which stolen goods and fraud-related services are regularly bought and sold, and where the estimated value of goods offered by individual traders is measured in millions of pounds. The potential value of total advertised goods observed by Symantec was more than £184 million ($276 million) for the reporting period.

Credit card information is the most advertised category of goods and services on the underground economy, accounting for 31 percent of the total. While stolen credit card numbers sell for as little as 7pence ($0.10) to £17 ($25) per card, the average advertised stolen credit card limit observed by Symantec was more than £2,650 ($4,000). Symantec has calculated that the potential worth of all credit cards advertised during the reporting period was £3.53 billion ($5.3 billion).

The popularity of credit card information is likely due to the many ways this information can be obtained and used for fraud; credit cards are easy to use for online shopping and it’s often difficult for merchants or credit providers to identify and address fraudulent transactions before fraudsters complete these transactions and receive their goods. Also, credit card information is often sold to fraudsters in bulk, with discounts or free numbers provided with larger purchases.

The second most common category of goods and services advertised was financial accounts at 20 percent of the total. While stolen bank account information sells for between £6.50 ($10) and £650 ($1,000), the average advertised stolen bank account balance is nearly £26,700 ($40,000). Calculating the average advertised balance of a bank account together with the average price for stolen bank account numbers, the worth of the bank accounts advertised during this reporting period was £1.1 billion ($1,7 billion). The popularity of financial account information is likely due to its potential for high payouts and the speed at which payouts can be made. In one case, financial accounts were cashed out online to untraceable locations in less than 15 minutes.

During the reporting period, Symantec observed 69,130 distinct active advertisers and 44,321,095 total messages posted to underground forums. The potential value of the total advertised goods for the top 10 most active advertisers was £10.8 million ($16.3 million) for credit cards and £1.3 million ($2 million) for bank accounts. Furthermore, the potential worth of the goods advertised by the single most active advertiser identified by Symantec during the study period was £4.2 billion ($6.4 billion).

The underground economy is geographically diverse and generates revenue for cybercriminals who range from loose collections of individuals to organised and sophisticated groups. During this reporting period, EMEA hosted the second largest number of such servers, with 38 percent of the total; with North America being first with 45 percent. Asia/Pacific hosted 12 percent and Latin America 5 percent. The geographical locations of underground economy servers are constantly changing to evade detection.

“As evidenced by the Report on the Underground Economy, today’s cybercriminals are thriving off of information they are gathering without permission from consumers and businesses,” said Stephen Trilling, vice president, Symantec Security Technology and Response. “As these individuals and groups continue to devise new tools and techniques to defraud legitimate users around the globe, protection and mitigation against such attacks must become an international priority.”

Related topics:  Authentication and identity management   Crime and Fraud Prevention   Data management and data security 

Print version | Email to a friend | Related articles

Data breaches: Trends, costs and best practices gives you all the latest information on securing personal and corporate data, key recommendations for immediate action to improve data security, and how to respond to data breaches.

Other Security news and resources