At the moment, there are nearly 3 billion credit cards in use worldwide. The modern economy has been thriving with the use of credit and the absence of cash which have become essential in actually making things easier for fraudsters.
As card use grows, so does the risk of fraud. In spite of advanced security measures, identity thieves are becoming more and more creative in finding ways to rob cardholders, merchants, and banks and it comes as no surprise if the least suspecting users find themselves being targeted as well.
A security researcher that goes by the handle of “Bank Security” on Twitter recently found evidence to support the fact that a cybercriminal is selling stolen payment card data of 158,000 people from the US and Canada.
According to the researcher, the credit cards do not have CVV (Card Verification Value) but are sold all the necessary information to commit fraud.
Stolen card details are sold on anonymous markets to ensure that the transaction is safe for both the buyer and the seller. The use of anonymity services like Tor and anonymous payment methods like Bitcoin can result in transactions where even the buyer and seller are unaware of each other’s real identity.
It is yet unclear which forum is being used for the operation of this deal but what can be said for sure is that if this is legit, it can impact many unsuspecting users in both the US and Canada.
Therefore, banking customers should keep a lookout for suspicious activity on their account, particularly watch out for smishing scam, identity theft and most importantly, if any suspicious activity is observed, they should alert the bank as soon as possible.