Criminals 'Buying Identities For 50p'

[nsane.forums]

For little more than the cost of a can of Coke, fraudsters can buy your credit card details, your name, address and date of birth, the report found.

Data collected from over 200 countries showed 349.6 billion spam messages were sent in 2008, a 192% increase on the previous year.

The highest amount of spam sent to Europe, Asia and the Middle East is said to come from Russia, while Poland appears to host the most phishing websites.

Phishing websites are designed to be identical to trustworthy web pages so users are fooled into giving away their username, password and even bank details.

Symantec web security, which carried out the research, says online fraud is thriving despite the economic downturn.

"This recession-proof underground economy is reaching such a level of growth and maturity that there are signs of a price war developing, as online criminals find it increasingly easy to steal private details, and barter to sell them for bargain prices," said Guy Bunker, Symantec's Chief Scientist.

"As above ground the world economy spirals, the underground economy has never been healthier."

If you think you don't have much money so they won't be interested in you, then think again.

Credit card information remains most valued, with details selling for as little as 40p and ranging to up to £20 for the most desired cards.

Bank account credentials are fetching as much as £675 while full identities go for between 50p and £40.

Emerging countries are seemingly developing their own booming underground economies as their internet infrastructures and broadband populations grow.

Mr Bunker believes the world of online fraud is becoming more sophisticated.

"The illegal world of internet crime is no longer perpetuated by spotty teenagers, it is attracting intelligent adults, very often, in some of the world's developing countries such as Brazil and India.

"This booming underground economy really is bucking the global recession trend," he said.

Symantec's report is derived from data collected by millions of internet sensors, first-hand research and active monitoring of hacker communications.

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