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Cybercrime Operations: Where Will Fraudsters Go Next?

Cybercriminals are constantly looking for ways to keep their activities up and running. The recent takedown of the Infraud marketplace, as well as AlphaBay and Hansa in 2017, sent cybercriminals scrambling for alternative ways to secure their operations.

Social media platforms are transforming into what may well be the fastest-growing communications channel for cybercriminals. Using social media allows them to vastly extend their reach. The platforms are global, easy to use and have none of the fees associated with running a forum on the dark web or hosting a website.  More importantly, while the risk of takedown may be high, a new profile or group can be created in seconds.

During a six-month study of cybercriminals’ social media use, RSA saw a 70% growth in the volume of visible fraud activity on social media, much of it occurring in plain sight. Fraud-dedicated groups seem to make little effort to operate stealthily. Even in closed groups, a simple “join” request is all that is needed to gain access, instead of the references or vouching process typically employed to join a forum on the dark web.

On Facebook—the single most popular channel—active groups in all regions of the world are openly sharing live, compromised financial information (such as credit card numbers with PII and authorization codes), cybercrime tutorials, malware and hacking tools, and cashout and muling services. Some cybercriminals even sell stolen credit card data and hacking kits from their own personal profiles.  Twitter, Instagram and WhatsApp are also growing (Read more...)

*** This is a Security Bloggers Network syndicated blog from RSA Blog authored by Heidi Bleau. Read the original post at: http://www.rsa.com/en-us/blog/2018-03/cybercrime-operations-where-will-fraudsters-go-next.html