The sale of credit cards on Dark Web markets has been on the descent since 2019 and it seems like it will
continue to decrease in the upcoming years. This decline can indicate that threat actors are moving to other
attack methods. In another report, Digital Wallets in the Cyber World
3
, we reviewed the rising interest of
threat actors in digital wallets and their desire in getting access into stolen accounts. Another type of attacks
that has been on the rise in the past year is ransomware attacks. In our recent report ‘The Ransomware
Landscape
4
, our team discovered that the number of ransomware attacks nearly doubled in the first half of
2021. During our research for that report, we observed that a steady increase in ransom payout began in Q3 of
2020, the same period of time we see a decline in the sale of credit cards.
We believe that the COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on this shift.
The ‘Working from home’ era can be one of the major causes for the increase of other attacks, employees
do not have the same level of protection, for example with the internet connection used at home, and the
deterrent measures cannot be compared. This made ransomware attacks more accessible and tempting.
The pandemic also opened the door for a new vulnerability, the interest in coronavirus-related news was
used as an opportunity for phishing scams. Threat actors always adapt themselves to the current affairs and
the present time, as they need to constantly evolve and renew their attacks methods.
In this research we collected data from 50 credit card shops, we organized the records by months and years
and analyzed the data. Our analysis revealed a decline of 24.5% from 2019 to 2020 in credit card for sale
on Dark Web markets. The first seven months of 2020 demonstrated high numbers of credit cards offered
for sale online and a rise of 43% compared to the same months in the previous year. The last five months
of 2020 demonstrated low numbers compared to the last five months of 2019 and a decline of 57%. When
comparing the data collected up until August 2021 with the same period of the time in the previous years, we
observed a decrease of almost 50%.
CONCLUSIONS
3
https://www.cognyte.com/resources/digital-wallets-in-the-cyber-world/?utm_source=security-boulevard-pr&utm_medium=resources-dw-report&utm_campaign=cyber-digital-
wallets-report-2021
4
https://www.cognyte.com/get-resource/?t=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuY29nbnl0ZS5jb20vd3AtY29udGVudC91cGxvYWRzLzIwMjEvMDMvY29nbnl0ZS1yYW5zb213YXJlLXJlcG9ydF8wM18yM
DIxLnBkZg==&show_cta=
Do not use unsecure
websites. When shopping
online, make sure the
website is secure.
Skip the option to save
your credit card details
on the website.
Do not provide your credit
card information over the
phone unless you have
initiated the call, or you
trust the party or retailer.
Keep an eye on credit
card statements for
signs of unapproved
activity, call your issuer
if any transaction
looks unfamiliar.
We believe that although the COVID19- Pandemic afected the frst months
of 2020 and demonstrated high values of numbers, the trend of selling
credit cards on Dark Web markets is going to slow down dramatically as
other methods of attack take over.
What can be done to protect our credit cards?
9