Black Market Prices: The Low Cost Of Stolen Credit Cards

Want to buy credit card data? Pony up $2.

Malware and cybercrime are on the rise, and several firms are starting to study prices on the black market in information that fuels it.

Security firm Panda Security released a comprehensive report on the cybercrime black market. It details the essential players in the process of stealing someone's financial information and how much people pay for stolen information.

Rather than keep the data for themselves, cyber criminals will sell the data on the black market. The market is made up of websites, which cannot be accessed without a username and password. Often the sites are promoted through underground forums and some people even use social media to get the word out.

Once data is in the black market store it is put in different product areas, sorted by how valuable it is and what it offers.

Basic credit card information can be sold for two dollars.But that's without additional information or verification of the account balance available. Comprehensive data in the form of available credit line or bank balance, costs at least $80 for smaller bank balances and upwards of $700 to access accounts with a guaranteed balance of $82,000.

The hackers will also offer physical credit cards, though that costs more. For a complete card and a minimum order of five units, this can cost $150. The information corresponding with the card; card number, PIN, comes at an added price. It's a similar situation for debit cards.

Beyond credit and debit cards, cyber criminals will offer card cloning machines and even fake ATM machines, both of which cost considerably more than the credit cards. Fake ATMs can be installed on legitimate machines -- it's basically a reader that goes over the real slot that a card goes in. When someone goes to use the ATM, the reader registers their information, including the PIN number. Cloning machines will create a fake card for a user.

Cyber criminals will also offer money laundering services for the entrepreneurial buyer. Bank account information, bank transfers and cashing checks are available in this money laundering scheme for a commission of 10-40 percent of the operation. All told, the cybercrime black market is quite comprehensive.

This cyber criminal black market caters to buyers' needs just as any other business, and functions in similar ways. Since there is a great deal of competition in this industry, the rule of supply and demand ensures that prices are competitive, and operators even offer bulk discounts to higher-volume buyers. They will offer free 'trial' access to stolen bank or credit card details, as well as money back guarantees and free exchanges, said Luis Corrons, a member of Panda Security's technical support team, in a blog post.

Below is the complete pricing of the cybercrime black market:

One question Panda Security answers is why cyber criminals sell this information rather than keep it themselves. According to the report, it is less risky to traffic in data than steal it directly. Also, the more intermediaries there are; the more difficult cyber criminals become to track down.