Stolen payment card numbers are being sold for an average of $10 per card on the black market, according to research from NordVPN.
The CyberTech company analysed statistical data from independent researchers.
They found that there are millions of cards ready to be sold, with Visa the most common card found on the markets. It was followed by Mastercard and American Express.
It also found that debit cards were more common than credit cards in the markets, which puts victims at higher risks, due to less protections in place for debit.
The US had the most victims, with the researchers identifying 1.5 million card details for sale. However, the report states this does not mean the US was more at risk. For example, Turkey had less than half the cards per capita, but the high proportion of non-refundable cards gives the country a higher risk index.
The risk index is based on one card per person, so the more cards someone has, the more likely it is one will be hacked.
Worryingly, the researchers said data breaches are not the only way to get hacked payment card details. It is becoming common for brute force. This method uses a computer to keep guessing numbers until it gets it right. While some places limit the number of guesses in a short time, there are ways around it, NordVPN said.
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