SymantecsaysUK identitiesare being bought and
sold in bulk-buy special offers on "cybercrime supermarket"
websites.
The warning comes in the
security firm's latest edition of its Internet Security Threat
Report.
The bi-annual global report found UK bank account details sold
on underground economy servers for as little as £5. They are the
most commonly advertised items for sale on the "cybercrime
supermarket" black market forums.
Where you live affects how attractive your identity is to cyber
criminals. The report found EU identities are in much demand,
trading at prices 50% higher than US identities.
This is because of their flexibility, since EU citizens can
travel and conduct business freely throughout the Europe Union
countries, making them useful to attackers who use the identities
across borders.
The Internet Security Threat Report also found that the higher
the bank balance, the more valuable the account details. High value
business accounts were advertised at a much higher price than lower
balance consumer ones.
Bank accounts that bundled in personal information such as
names, addresses and dates of birth were advertised at higher
prices than those without this extra information.
Symantec observed a new phenomenon of bulk-buying confidential
consumer data, where personal details are packaged with economies
of scale.
For example, during the last six months of 2007, Symantec
observed bundles of 50 credit card numbers for sale at £20 (40p
each), and 500 credit card bundles for £100 (20p).
After credit cards, full identities were the third most common
item advertised for sale, making up 9% of all advertised goods, an
increase from 6% in the first half of 2007.
Symantec observed that identity trading is on the increase with
some details being sold for as little as 50p. This includes stolen
eBay accounts.
Attackers drive the security market>>