You may be surprised to learn that your credit card information, which many of us go to great lengths to protect, is worth only about $1.50 on the black market.
A Washington Post reporter recently shopped for stolen credit and debit cards online. He found a variety of sites to choose from. He opened an account at one of the sites and found that U.S. card numbers are for sale for $1.50, and U.K. resident account information sold for $4. In addition to purchasing the card numbers, the site the reporter visited allowed extra cardholder information to be purchased, such as the cardholder’s mother’s maiden name and the cardholder’s date of birth. Most of the card information is obtained through malware that steals data from computers infected with a virus.
However, the reporter was surprised to find that if he wanted to use the website’s search tools, he was nailed for extra convenience fees. In order to buy a credit card number that was stolen from a certain city, it would cost an extra 60 cents. Apparently, the company that sells stolen information believes in nickel and diming the online would-be thieves.
You may be wondering if you can use data from a stolen credit card to purchase more stolen credit card data. No, payment on that particular website can only be made using LibertyReserve or Webmoney, which are popular in the underground.