How to Protect Your Credit Card Information Leaked on the Dark Web
Credit card data is one of the most sought-after offerings on online marketplaces. NordVPN conducted a detailed investigation of BriansClub, an underground marketplace offering details for over 1.2 million cards for sale. Find out the best info about Briansclub login.
Threat actors seeking to commit fraud and other crimes often use dark markets as an access point to acquire sensitive data for financial crimes or other unlawful purposes. Here’s what to do if your information ends up on these websites:
Check Your Bank Statements
Be it through bank breaches or compromised websites, stolen credit card and personal data are available on the dark web and sold to malicious actors for use in financial theft, social fraud, and hacking into other accounts or websites.
Have I Been Pwned?” is a free service designed to detect whether your personal information has been leaked onto the dark web, but even if this hasn’t happened, you should still monitor your credit cards and bank statements for signs of fraud.
To protect and limit fraud risk, conducting bank account reviews and credit report analyses on a secure computer and Wi-Fi network is wise. Avoid performing these actions on public computers or insecure Wi-Fi, as threat actors could intercept and exploit your online activities. It is also wise to avoid using mobile banking apps on phones as you might become vulnerable to malware.
Signing up with IDStrong allows you to receive alerts if any of your sensitive personal data appears on the dark web, as well as offering free dark web scans and credit monitoring so you can stay ahead of any identity thieves trying to open accounts or loans in your name.
One of the most frequently leaked data on the dark web is passwords. Hackers will often compile large troves of username and password combinations into data dumps and sell them off onto the dark web, where they can be used to gain entry to other accounts through credential stuffing – this process is known by its acronym.
Privacy Affairs conducted a study that revealed criminals can purchase stolen credentials on the dark web for only $1,115. Stolen medical records may also be sold or utilized fraudulently – such as to fraudulently bill health insurance policies or forge documents like passports and driver’s licenses.
Change Your Passwords
Thankfully, there are steps you can take if your credit card information has been exposed online. First, review your bank statements and alerts; immediately notify your bank if suspicious activity arises.
Second, update your passwords. For best results, it is advised that you utilize a password manager with complex, hard-to-guess passwords for each of your accounts; this helps protect their contents if one of their passwords were to become public knowledge. Furthermore, enable two-factor authentication (2FA) on all the reports supporting it – an extra step requiring verification through codes sent directly to email or phone numbers before accessing an account.
Criminals illegally obtain payment card data and sell it on the dark web for profit, typically through data breaches, phishing attacks, device skimmers attaching to card readers and stealing information, or device skimmers that steal card numbers in restaurants and hotels where credit card data is often handled. Once sold to other threat actors, they can use these cards to make fraudulent charges against customers.
Stolen credit card data can be misused for fraudulent activities, including theft of funds or purchases of drugs in your name. If your information has been leaked onto the dark web, report any unapproved charges immediately to your bank and file a fraud alert with all three major credit bureaus to prevent lenders from opening new lines of credit under your name.
If your Social Security number has been stolen and used on the dark web, you should freeze all three credit bureaus to protect yourself financially. This restricts access to your credit report and prevents thieves from opening loans in your name.
Signing up for an identity theft monitoring service like Identity Guard provides another layer of protection, scanning the dark web, public records, and other sources to detect when your personal information has been found- and alerting you if passwords or sensitive data is leaked onto them.
Talk to Your Bank and Credit Bureau
Credit card scammers could gain access to your data through the dark web, an area of the internet that’s harder for users to navigate and primarily used by criminals selling stolen goods or information. Suppose you suspect your data might have entered this underground market. In that case, it is a good idea to contact both your bank and credit bureau immediately so they can place a fraud alert on your credit report and prevent new accounts from being opened in your name.
The number of stolen credit card details being offered for sale on the dark web tripled over the last six months of 2019, signaling worsening hacks and data breaches. A cybercriminal recently listed 30 million stolen card details acquired reportedly through one U.S. gas station chain’s data breach in late 2018 on Joker’s Stash marketplace for sale on the dark web marketplace.
Ask your bank if they provide extra security measures to protect you from having your information leaked on the dark web, such as password protection features and two-factor authentication for accounts and mobile apps.
Speak to a credit bureau regarding additional monitoring services they can offer you for your data – for instance, SSN/identity monitoring, home title change alerts, and criminal/court record searches are just a few options.
There are also free tools that you can use to monitor whether or not your personal information has been leaked through data breaches or is publicly accessible online on people finder websites, like Experian’s dark web scan that searches the sites where it might be available for you to locate email addresses, phone numbers or Social Security numbers that could contain such details.
If your personal information has been exposed and appears on the dark web, immediately close any unauthorized accounts and regularly review bank statements for suspicious transactions. Make sure your passwords are strong and unique for each account – consider setting up two-factor authentication as soon as possible, and activate any fraud alerts offered by banks so they notify of suspicious activities immediately.
Close Your Accounts
Receiving a phone call from your credit card provider about suspicious transactions can be alarming. Even if you didn’t make them, your bank or bureau account can still be frozen by their security teams in case fraudsters use your information for fraudulent purchases, and your heart sinks further when you realize someone could have stolen it off the dark web to use against you.
Criminals have found the underground market for stolen credit card data so lucrative that they buy data dumps in bulk and sell them on the dark web. A site called BidenCash recently exposed details on over 1.2 million credit cards to attract potential cybercriminals; another area known as Joker’s Stash generated $1 billion for its creator before shutting down in February, according to Gemini Advisory; new underground shops continue to spring up – one recently offering documents belonging to Indian engineering students such as mark sheets, signatures, passport-size photos caste certificates, Aadhar cards among other records for sale – one such shop advertised an entire collection of documents belonging to Indian engineering students including mark sheets signatures passport-size photos passport-size photos passport-size photos caste certificates Aadhar cards as part of its stockpiled goods a pool for sale as part of its inventory!
Comparitech conducted a recent investigation that revealed stolen credit cards, PayPal accounts, and other illicit goods and services for sale on 13 dark web marketplaces (for legal reasons, we won’t tell which). A single debit or credit card listing could cost approximately $20, with some sellers offering discounts when purchasing multiple listings.
Therefore, you must monitor all accounts, especially those containing sensitive information like social security numbers or health insurance plans. Consider freezing your credit files at each of the three major credit bureaus to prevent anyone else from opening accounts in your name, and implement Aura Password Manager to set solid passwords for all your funds.
Protecting your identity should also be a top priority; steps include signing up with an identity protection service that monitors for mentions of you on the dark web and can assist in improving online security or recovering from fraud. Many digital security providers also provide support services designed to strengthen these aspects.
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