Comments on: ID Theft Service Tied to Payday Loan Sites

By: Sonja

Sonja — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 19:36:08 +0000

What I don’t understand is how people can be so dumb as to actually think entering their SSN into these sites is a good idea…

By: Mark D. Adams

Mark D. Adams — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 21:31:44 +0000

Great work. I’m pretty sure that your social security number was designed to be your account number for government services, not as an authentication mechanism. I think we’re all going to have to share our numbers publicly before businesses stop using it as a “super secret” password, though.

http://www.spamstopshere.com/blog/2008/04/29/your-social-security-number-isnt-secure/

By: george

george — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 14:13:22 +0000

The problem are banks and other institutions who issue creditcards (conveniently) using telephone, mail or Internet applications and use, as Brian pointed out security questions with answers which can easily researched over the internet or found out the way those bad guys do. If it would not be possible to obtain a creditcard or something else of value without physically coming into a bank office and be identified, I would not care if someone “stole” my identity.

By: BrianKrebs

BrianKrebs — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 22:00:11 +0000

Most of these sites aren’t exactly advertised in a traditional sense. They rely on word-of-mouth in the underground, and on some pretty targeted ads on sites that generally do not get indexed by search engines.

It’s important to keep in mind that all these guys will do if they get shut down is move their domain to another place. It cost next to nothing to set the site up in a new place.

By: really?

really? — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 21:36:58 +0000

echoing Jim Bob, can someone, maybe Brian, talk about how these sites are able to operate so openly.

By: d

Mon, 17 Sep 2012 16:38:29 +0000

As a newly minted Virginian, Pay Day loan companies are always in the news, especially with all the military in my area. However, enforcement seems to fall to the level of the Do-Not-Call list. Government as a whole (state and federal) seems to be wholly unprepared for, and way behind, the crooks who run scams on the Internet.

Good job, Brian. You should definitely pitch your findings to the wider media.

By: Jim Bob

Jim Bob — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 16:34:17 +0000

I still cannot wrap my mind around how a site which traffics SSNs can legally exist. Are all of these domains hosted off-shore or in foreign countries which do not cooperate with US law enforcement agencies? The mind reels…

By: UndergroundMember

UndergroundMember — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 13:18:39 +0000

9 out of 10 sites that offer payday loans and take your information redirect you to yet another site which takes your information which if your lucky will finally take you to a legitimate site which could have easily been found in a google search. They will have you input your information yet again which leads to the question, Where did the information go that you filled out with the previous sites?

These sites can operate “legally” because they are supposedly providing you with a lead to a legitimate lender. The problem is none of your information is passed on to the lender, nor are they in any way affiliated.

Buy a couple fullz and give it a shot one day, you’d be surprised at how corrupt the online payday loan scene is.