http://www.forbes.com/security/2008/10/25/credit-card-theft-tech-security-cz_tb1024theft.html
By Taylor Buley
Forbes.com
10.27.08
BURLINGAME, CALIF. - Your personal identity isn't worth quite as much as
it used to be--at least to thieves willing to swipe it.
According to experts who monitor such markets, the value of stolen
credit card data may range from $3 to as little as 40 cents. That's down
tenfold from a decade ago--even though the cost to an individual who has
a credit card stolen can soar into the hundreds of dollars.
The black market for personal data is even less transparent the market
for derivatives and other unregulated financial instruments, but it
works like any other market: When the supply of goods is plentiful,
prices start to sink.
And in spite of authorities' efforts to take down the markets that serve
as clearing houses for other people's financial data, the black market
in personal identity is flush with product.
[...]
Received on Tue Oct 28 03:07:13 2008