Secrets of the Dark Web
Cybercriminals can take an in-depth, six-week course of 20 lectures, in Russian, on Carding…learning how to steal credit card data from insecure databases or buy the data on the dark web. They can also take information on emails and passwords leaked from other data breaches to access banking websites, buy vacation packages, gift cards, all within nine minutes after the information was posted online.
The class, more in-depth than most, was discovered on a deep web forum by Digital Shadows while investigating credit card fraud and criminal activity. On one forum alone, more than 1.2 million card numbers were available for sale, nearly half of the numbers in the U.S. While card hackers and sellers are based in Russia and Eastern Europe, the buyers are often here in the U.S. Digital Shadows estimates $24 billion in credit card fraud next year.
Dark Web, A Simple Explanation
The Dark Web is a collection of thousands of websites that use anonymity tools like Tor and I2P to hide their IP address. While it’s most famously been used for black market drug sales and even child pornography, the Dark Web also enables anonymous whistleblowing and protects users from surveillance and censorship.See This article from Wired for more
How Can a Consumer or Business Reduce the Risk of Credit Card Data Theft?
- Place an alert on your credit card and bank for purchases less than $5 and more than $100…it is common for a thief to test the card by trying to process a small amount…usually less than $5
- Never give your pin number to anyone
- Never use the same password for your bank or credit card that you use for another website
- Confirm all communication is authentic such as phone calls or emails
- Do not click on links in suspicious emails
- When in question always contact the business or individual directly
