Online card fraud courses extended to six weeks

A course in payment card fraud including 20 lectures with five expert instructors has been found on a Russian online forum, the cybersecurity experts Digital Shadows have reported.

The intensive and exclusive six-week course is offered for just $745 plus $200 for course materials.

“While tutorials and guides have existed for many years, the online course was on a scale and level of professionalism we have not seen before,” the company said in its report,  “Inside Online Carding Courses Designed for Cybercriminals.” It comes “complete with webinars, instructors and reading material.”

The course instructors say they aim to teach the would-be criminal “to become a professional in the world of carding”.

They claim that “with this knowledge, carders can make more than $3,000 a month for 10-12 hours a week of work. Of course, fraudsters who work more than this can reap a higher profit, potentially making $12k a month, based on a standard 40-hour working week,” Digital Shadows reported.

“For each lecture, which lasts between one and two hours, the number of attendees is capped at 15. The course is conducted in Russian, so it is specifically targeted at fraudsters in this geography.”

Retraining is offered every six months for an additional cost.  While the course is advertised in a number of forums, word of mouth is its best marketing tool. Digital Shadows noted that one ad for the course said, “We don’t need PR.”

By scrutinizing guides and courses offered to budding fraudsters, security pros can “see what defenses the carders struggle to bypass, as well as the new tactics they have devised,” Digital Shadows contended.