[Dataloss] the cost(s) for an ID thief

[Henry Brown]

http://www.slate.com/id/2189902/

Credit Card Numbers for SaleHow much does a Visa or MasterCard number go 
for these days?
By Jacob Leibenluft
Posted Thursday, April 24, 2008, at 6:18 PM ET

Security experts at the InfoSecurity Europe conference are drawing 
attention to "data supermarkets" that sell stolen credit card numbers 
for a fixed price. According to a BBC story, "credit card details are 
cheap" on the black market while "the logfiles of big companies can go 
for up to $300." How much is my credit card number worth on the Internet?

As little as a few cents. Reliable statistics about data theft are 
notoriously hard to come by, and reports of cheap cards for sale are 
nothing new. Researchers who track the Internet Relay Chat servers where 
this sort of business is often done, however, are reporting that the 
lowest advertised prices of credit card numbers has been falling during 
the past two years. Symantec—a firm that sells security software to both 
consumers and businesses—reported earlier this month that credit card 
numbers were now selling for anywhere between 40 cents and $20. (Credit 
cards from Europe or smaller card companies typically cost up to twice 
as much as standard-issue American numbers, presumably due to their 
relative scarcity within the market.) By comparison, Symantec 
researchers found bank account numbers going for anywhere from $10 to 
$1,000, and "full identities"—which include date of birth, address, and 
social security and telephone numbers—selling for between $1 and $15 a pop.

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