The latest Armor Black Market Report reveals that Bitcoin to cash conversion is the newest scheme gaining traction in the current dark web portals.
Bitcoin’s illicit exploitation by dark web criminals comes as no surprise, and many of us have already run into those suspicious emails that lure us into the world of illegal digital marketplaces.
While hacking bank account credentials or credit card numbers or gaining access to trading accounts has become a run-of-the-mill job for these criminals, some have found new ways to keep the black market industry from becoming dreary.
The cheapest Bitcoin to cash conversion scheme
After months of research by delving into the deep dark web market of underground hackers and illicit goods trading places, Armor’s Threat Resistance Unit (TRU) research team, has unveiled an interesting yet nerve-wracking scheme that lets a fraudster sell eight hundred dollars ($800) worth of Bitcoin and turn it into ten thousand dollars ($10,000) in cash by transferring it into the preferred bank account.
Although, at first glance, charging twelve cents for a dollar may not seem like a hugely profit-making scheme however it helps small-time criminals or early beginners to set up their bases in illegal marketplace, often considered as a stepping stone.
Why is the scheme gaining momentum?
Chris Hinkley, who is heading the research team at Armor, explains that Bitcoin to cash conversion schemes such as this are attractive and convenient to bush-league hackers; ones who do not possess the technical prowess or the network of a professional.
It comes across as a smart way of getting rid off the risks associated with monetizing unsanctioned account credentials. At its core, it’s a quick money laundering scheme that puts its buyers at risk more than the seller, he claims.
Selling cash for as little as ten to twelve cents does not set off alarms or raise an eyebrow in a market that is otherwise crowded with much more severe crimes, Hinkley remarks.
The report further reveals how this industry continues to prosper by causing organizations and individuals around the world to lose millions of dollars despite a clampdown by the governments of several countries and financial organizations.
