Hackers steal bank details to earn Bitcoin

Bestvalid.cc is a surprisingly public (not dark web) website that claims to sell private information, including credit card numbers, social security numbers, birthdays, and more.

Although digital currency is not the best choice for criminal purposes compared to bank transfers or cash payments, Bitcoin is still often associated with illegal activities on the Internet. Hackers target financial institutions and online shopping platforms in an attempt to compromise their databases. Banks record information on more than 1 million consumers, which is a coveted target for hackers. Bitcoin is one of the accepted payment methods.

Credit card information for sale

Cybercrime has become a hot topic today, and hackers have become more aggressive when it comes to breaching databases and stealing consumer information. When this information is sold openly on the Internet (not the dark web), you can imagine how bad the situation is.

Debit and credit card data is a prime target for hackers as the criminal demand for this type of information has grown, especially as hackers have managed to gain access to more sensitive information, including social security numbers. With this information, hackers can bypass most bank security issues and wreak further damage.

Bestvalid.cc is such a website, which claims to sell personal privacy information including credit card numbers, social security numbers, birthdays, etc. What is even more worrying is that such a website has been openly selling this information for more than half a year, but it has not yet been banned by law enforcement.

That’s not all, Bestvalid also offers its customers credit card “packages”, some of which include answers to the most common banking security questions.

The bigger problem is that many websites are very vulnerable to this type of attack. British ISP TalkTalk was hacked not long ago, exposing the financial information of thousands of consumers to hackers.

Unlike most other online marketplaces for sensitive consumer financial information, Bestvalid operates openly, and many have questioned why law enforcement agencies haven't shut down the site in the past eight months.

Bestvalid.cc accepts Bitcoin payments

Cybercriminals tend to hide their true identities from the public when choosing payment methods. According to many mainstream media articles, Bitcoin provides hackers with this functionality, even though anyone in the world can track these transactions on the blockchain. Without the involvement of a third-party intermediary (such as an exchange), these transactions do not immediately reveal a person's identity.

This is something that government officials and law enforcement have trouble with because they think Bitcoin is a currency that cannot be tracked. In fact, Bitcoin can be easily tracked because all the actions of the transaction are recorded in real time on the blockchain. If hackers try to cash out their Bitcoin, they can be investigated through exchanges.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin has once again proven why it is a viable alternative to traditional finance. Unlike credit and debit card payment methods, Bitcoin does not send sensitive user data during the payment process. This does not mean that users cannot fill in their details in the transaction if they want, but the process is not done automatically. In addition, Bitcoin transactions do not contain information to simulate payments, and the private keys associated with the addresses are not sent during the payment process.

Original article: http://www.newsbtc.com/2016/02/15/bestvalid-sells-stolen-credit-card-information-for-bitcoin/
By JP Buntinx
Compiled by: Satuoxi
Source (translation): Babbitt Information (http://www.8btc.com/information-for-bitcoin)

Copyright Statement: The author reserves all rights. The article is the author's independent opinion and does not represent the position of Babbitt.