Carders are one of the most dangerous scammers in the 21th century, as they operate with stolen credit or debit card of unsuspecting cardholders.
Carding is the type of scam, in which a person gains illegal access to someone else’s card information, required to make a purchase. The worst thing about carding is that the data is usually stolen imperceptibly and cardholder gets to know it only after he has got robbed.
The most valuable type of cards in this scheme are debit ones, as it is much easier to make a purchase with a debit card. There are special websites on darknet, where carders are able to buy or sell the stolen data. The scariest thing is that full packages of data, including social security numbers cost less than 30$ only. This lets almost anyone with access to darknet and particular IT skills become a scammer of this kind.
After gaining access to someone’s payment information, carders may perform almost any kind of operations with the stolen cards. It is not that simple for carders, however, as their operations are illegal and they have to put much effort in hiding themselves. That is why carders do not usually use their own addresses, names or even computers. They do not just transfer money from one’s account to theirs, as they have to launder this money and hide the track of it.
The simplest option for carders is to purchase gift cards at online shops and then reselling them. The police might track the operations of the carder’s victim and understand, which gift cards were purchased, but they would not be able to track the carder himself, as the gift cards might be activated by random people all around the globe.
Another option for carders is to use the so-called drops. Drops are special people, who assist the criminals in the money laundering. Carders make online purchases and set the delivery address of the drop. The drop picks up the parcel and passes it to the carder, making carder almost impossible to track. The drops usually do not possess any information about carders, so in case the police catch them, they cannot reveal the identity of the real scammer.
Despite the fact, the governments and big companies are putting much effort in fighting carders, the main elements of these criminal chains are usually not revealed. The only option for regular cardholders to protect themselves is to avoid receiving large amounts of money on their accounts, entering their card data on suspicious websites and using their cards in suspicious places.