Stupid Thief Watch: Stolen Identities go for Less than $20?
Is it just me, or are some numbers concerning the black market for stolen information released by Symantec yesterday a little fishy?
According to the security vendor, during the last six months of 2006, stolen U.S.-based credit cards with verification numbers were available for between $1 and $6 each.
At the same time, identities, including U.S. bank accounts, credit cards, dates of birth and government-issued ID numbers, were available for between $14 and $18, according to Symantec.
Between $14 and $18? Were these identities stolen off a national sex offenders’ registry? And how much stolen credit can those $1-$6 cards possibly have?
Even underground economies work based on market-driven value-not that I would know anything about black markets from when I was a GI in Holland during the late 70s, of course.
So how much can a stolen identity that goes for less than $20 be worth? Talk about affordable.
Hell, I’ll take seven of them, buy some fake facial hair and ask my wife to start calling me by different names on different days.
Who knew identity theft was such a low-rent game?
