1/21/2014 Fake Card Store Hacked by Feds, then Shut Down.
About January 2013 the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the US Postal Investigative Service started an investigation of a web site that blatantly advertised itself as a carders supply shop. People could order counterfeit charge cards and state identifications, embossed or not, and equipped with the appropriate holographic overlays. Payment had been made by “Liberty Reserve”, a virtual currency until that was shut down (see links below). More recently payment had been by Bitcoin. On receipt of the cards, the appropriate track data would be applied to the magnetic strip on the fake cards and the cards used to make purchases from victim accounts.
In early December 2013 the investigators took control of the card shop and continued to track the incoming e-mail with order information. In mid-January 2014 the first indictments were filed. According to the filed complaint, from about April 2011 through about 2013 several persons …
… intentionally trafficked and attempted to traffic in labels, patches, stickers, wrappers, badges, emblems, medallions, charms, boxes, containers, cans, cases, hangtags, documentation, and packaging of any type and nature, knowing that counterfeit marks had been applied thereto, the use of which was likely to cause confusion, to cause mistake·, and to deceive. In violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2320(a).
from Count 2, 1/21/2014 United States District Court, District of New Jersey, Amended Criminal Complaint (see below for link)
… began selling counterfeit credit and debit cards (collectively, “payment cards”) and related contraband over the Internet. By June 2012, [ defendant had ] launched an online retail shop specializing in the sale of counterfeit payment cards, as well as holographic overlays used to make fake identification cards, known as [ name deleted here ]. [ Defendants ] created the templates used to create the counterfeit payment cards, oversaw the process for creating counterfeit payment cards, set up the card manufacturing plant used to fulfill orders for counterfeit payment cards,
from Attachment B, Item 1A of the complaint (see below for link)
1/21/2014 United States District Court, District of New Jersey, Amended Criminal Complaint
49 pages containing more information and some interesting pictures at the end.
http://www.justice.gov/usao/nj/Press/files/pdffiles/2014/Roberson,%20Sean%20Complaint.pdf
For more narrative and images of the fake card web site see
http://krebsonsecurity.com/2014/01/feds-infiltrate-bust-counterfeit-card-shop/
Liberty Reserve: Called a 6 billion dollar scam “designed to help criminals conduct illegal transactions and launder the proceeds of their crimes.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/05/28/feds-shut-down-payment-network-liberty-reserve-is-bitcoin-next/
Liberty Reserve started about 2006 according to the 27 page indictment by the US District Court, Southern District of New York on Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering. Despite the legal verbiage it is interesting reading.
http://krebsonsecurity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Liberty-Reserve-et-al.-Indictment.pdf
6/14/2014 Look at a carding shop
Want a view of a leading shop that sells stolen charge card data called “dumps”? The name isn’t used here, but they started in late April 2013. Completely violating multiple McDonald’s trademarks the site uses the golden arches, a clown holding a pistol and uses the phrase “i’m swipin’ it”. The site is selling card information stolen from recent major data breaches. The article provides a glossary of terms to better understand the environment. Read the story More screen shots of the site Click on a screen shot to get a larger image.
7/07/2014 Arrests
Today the U.S. Justice Department announced the arrest of head of an online crime shops network that sold charge card data stolen in recent major breaches. Prices ranged from $13/card in 100-card batches to $8/card in batches of 1,000. Much more at KOS.
