News19,135 Articles

November 25, 2008

Stolen credit cards net cybercriminals £3.3bn

Card details make up 31% of online black market

Carrie-Ann Skinner

Cybercriminals have gained access to over $5bn (£3.35bn) through stolen credit card details says Symantec.

The security firm undertook a year-long study of the internet's black market and discovered that stolen credit card details accounted for 31 percent of the goods on offer while stolen bank details accounted for another 20 percent.

On average, $350 (£234) worth of purchases are made by cyber criminals using a stolen credit card details. Symantec simply multiplied this by the number of card details available to estimate how much cybercriminals are making through their illegal activities. Bank accounts were estimated to be worth around $1.7bn (£1.1bn) to the cyber criminal community.

"Today's cybercriminals are thriving off information they are gathering without permission from consumers and businesses," said Stephen Trilling, vice president, Symantec Security Technology and Response.

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