The scale of credit card fraud has reached alarming heights. In 2022, global credit card fraud amounted to $33.5 billion, compared to $28.4 billion in 2020.
Cybercriminals have become very active. Their scale of operations is growing and they are hunting data like a skilled hunter.
Another contributing factor that actually helps cybercriminals make money off their ‘work’ is the presence of dark web carding marketplaces like BriansClub.
Since forums like BriansClub offer a platform for trading stolen credit cards anonymously, it encourages cybercriminals to keep on with their actions.
Let’s see how much damage Briansclubcm.co and other similar sites are doing.
Overview of BriansClub
BriansClub was founded in 2015. Its name comes from the mockery of an investigative journalist ‘Brian Krebs’ who works on exposing cybercrime.
Screenshot of the Briansclubcm.co (Briansclub) Login Page
BriansClub has become one of the largest underground carding marketplaces for stolen credit card data (dumps, CVV, fullz, etc.).
The website operated silently yet effectively until a data breach happened at BriansClub in 2019. This data breach exposed the massive size of BriansClub credit card data pool.
The data breach showed that BriansClub had a pool of over 26 million credit card data. The worth of this pool was estimated at $441 million.
From 2015 to 2019, research suggests that BriansClub sold 9.1 million credit cards and earned $126 million.
Though Briansclubcm.co operates in North America, Europe, and much of Asia, the majority of its credit card pool consists of American cards (approx. 24 million credit cards).
Mechanisms of Operation
This is how BriansClub operates.
Data Acquisition
Brians Club sources data from online data breaches at big businesses, financial institutions, and banks, as well as phishing scams, credit card skimming scams, and POS scams.
Sales and Distribution
This stolen data is then offered to other cybercriminals on BriansClub. The prices for credit card data can range from $30-$200 or more. The price depends on the credit card issuers and the expected value of the credit card.
BriansClub maintains anonymity by restricting payment methods to cryptocurrencies. They let buyers and sellers pay with Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Monero only.
Impact on the Global Credit Card Fraud Economy
A Screenshot of the Briansclubcm.co (Briansclub) Register Page
BriansClub impact on the global credit card fraud economy is significant.
Scale of Impact
We know that the total size of the global credit card scam market is about $33.5 billion. In 2019, Briansclubcm.co had about a third of all the stolen & traded 87 million credit cards in the black market.
Economic Losses
Carding caused a loss of about $28.6 billion in 2019. Total loss has crossed over $30 billion now. Still, we are not counting losses occurring due to identity theft. Secondary, non-monetary losses have not been accounted for yet.
Table: Comparative Analysis of Credit Card Fraud Statistics (2015-2019)
| Year | Total Stolen Cards (Millions) | Estimated Losses (Billion USD) | Major Breaches |
| 2015 | 5.2 | 21.84 | Target, Home Depot |
| 2016 | 6.1 | 22.80 | Wendy’s, LinkedIn |
| 2017 | 7.3 | 24.26 | Equifax, Uber |
| 2018 | 7.8 | 26.20 | Marriott, Facebook |
| 2019 | 8.6 | 28.65 | Capital One, BriansClub |
Sources:: Krebs on Security : CISO MAG McAfee
Broader Implications for Cybersecurity
BClub cm was a wakeup call for authorities and businesses alike as it showed how the dark web was working. People came to realize that the dark web was using a functioning business model to conduct their operations.
Financial Institutions
Since the dangers of cybercrime have been exposed, businesses and financial institutions need to invest more in fraud detection and prevention. This is why the global cybersecurity industry is worth $193 billion and it is expected to grow to $562 billion in 2032.
Cybersecurity Measures:
Cybersecurity is quickly evolving to combat threats. The detection systems are getting sophisticated. Also, machine learning is helping in identifying patterns to quickly spot stolen credit cards even when the victim has not noticed yet.
Future Outlook and Recommendations
The future is challenging for cybersecurity, to say the least.
Cybercriminals are still a step ahead of the law. They have evolved their methods. Small banks and small/medium e-commerce businesses are their special target. The size of the dark web is increasing and cybersecurity is hardly keeping up with the pace.
We expect future credit fraud trends to use more of generative AI for making deep fakes, synthetic identity frauds, and a rise in retail fraud.
Cybersecurity infrastructures need to become robust to quickly handle greater threats and attacks. There is a strong need for increased collaboration between cybersecurity firms and law enforcement agencies.
Conclusion
BriansClub is one of the largest dark web marketplaces for credit card theft. It started in 2015 and is still operating fine.
There was a data breach and a crackdown on the website in 2019. Its owner was arrested but the website quickly resurfaced. We can say that BriansClub is here to stay for a long time.
Government and financial institutions should adopt proactive measures to combat credit card fraud. The public and individuals should also learn about personal cybersecurity to protect themselves online.