In case you have ever made an online purchase you are at risk of being robbed by a carder at any moment.
Carders are scammers, who steal money from credit or debit cards of other people. The process is quite complicated and involves different kinds of illegal actions. In general, there are three main stages of the carding process:
• Reconnaissance
• Attack
• Sell
The first stage involves finding a target. Hackers analyze weaknesses of particular websites or create their own phishing websites. The second stage is the active phase of carding: criminals either start hacking websites, which contain all the necessary card information, or launch their phishing websites and start luring card information from people. The third phase involves either selling the obtained data, or cashing out the credit cards acquired.
The main ways of carding attacks are:
• Key logging;
• Phishing;
• Using exploits
• Using malware
Key logging is a popular method of obtaining passwords. It involves recording the actions of a user without his awareness of that. Carders may interfere in the login process of people, obtaining their passwords and credit card data.
Phishing is another popular method used by hackers. The criminal creates a copy of a popular and trusted website. After that he waits for people, who did not notice the difference in domain, to enter their card data.
Using exploits involves finding breaches in the security systems of websites in order to obtain access to credit card databases.
As for the malware, carders usually hack the payment processing terminals and gain access to every card that makes an operation through the hacked website.
In case a carder receives the information needed to make a transaction, the cardholder has no option to recognize it, as the money does not disappear the moment card data is obtained by the carder. There might pass months before the illegal transaction happens.
After the carder obtains the data, he has to check, whether it is correct and actual. Later on, the cards are sold at the black markets of the dark web.
The most vulnerable category of cardholders is the online shoppers, as they leave their credit card data on multiple websites, which might be attacked by carders in future. However, there is a chance of becoming a carders victim for anyone who has ever made a purchase online or entered their credit card data on any website.