Over 23 Million Credit Card Records Sold on the Darknet

In the first half of 2019, data from more than 23 million payment cards were put up for sale on underground darknet forums. According to a report by researchers from Sixgill, nearly 15 million of these cards belonged to users in the United States, accounting for almost 64.5% of all compromised card data offered for sale.

The United Kingdom ranked second in the number of compromised payment cards (7.43%), followed by India (3.78%) and Brazil (2.18%). Researchers noted that Russia was at the bottom of the list, with only 0.0014% (just 316 cards) of the total.

Experts believe Russia’s low ranking is due to two main factors: the high number of hackers originating from Russia and the country’s economic situation.

New Platforms for Selling Stolen Data

Cybercriminals have started using not only underground marketplaces but also IRC channels and encrypted platforms like Telegram to sell stolen card data.

Types of Compromised Cards and Pricing

In total, 57% of the compromised financial documents were linked to Visa cards, followed by Mastercard at 29%, and AMEX at 12%.

Stolen payment card data is being offered on underground platforms for as little as five dollars. Researchers categorize the information being sold into two classes:

• The first class includes data with the three-digit card verification code (CVV) found on the back of the card.
• The second class consists of information stored on the card’s magnetic stripe, which is necessary for creating cloned cards for in-person purchases.

Law Enforcement Challenges

“The centralization of fraudulent activity on a few underground marketplaces mirrors the situation in real financial markets. This phenomenon seems like a great opportunity for law enforcement agencies to disrupt a significant portion of cybercriminal activity. However, as seen with markets like Alphabay, Hansa, and Silk Road, criminals quickly ‘migrate’ to other platforms,” the researchers concluded.