An analysis of over four million payment cards available for sale on the dark web indicates that these cards belong to individuals from 140 countries, with an average price of $9.70.
The United States was identified as the most impacted country, with 1,561,739 out of a total of 4,481,379 payment cards for sale, according to NordVPN. Australia ranked second with 419,806 compromised cards, followed by the UK with 134,607.
To better understand the risk levels, NordVPN created an index that correlates population data with the number of cards in circulation. Hong Kong emerged as the most vulnerable country, receiving a maximum risk score of 1. Australia followed closely with a score of 0.85, while the UK scored 0.39, and the Netherlands received a score of 0.
The highest prices for cards were found in Hong Kong and the Philippines, averaging around $20, while the lowest-priced cards belonged to individuals in Mexico, the US, and Australia, starting at just $1.
Regarding how these card details end up on the dark web, Marijus Briedis, CTO of NordVPN, explains: “Increasingly, the card numbers sold on the dark web are brute-forced. Brute-forcing is akin to guessing.
“Imagine a computer attempting to guess your password. It might start with 000000, then 000001, then 000002, and so on until it finds the correct one. Being a computer, it can make thousands of guesses per second.”