Introduction
Data breaches are harming people and businesses on an alarming scale. In 2023 alone, data breaches and financial information theft impacted 422 million individuals globally. This number and the scale of cybercrime hints at the massive underground marketplace for stolen identities.
One of the top-traded stolen identities is ‘Fullz’.
Fullz is short for ‘full information.’ It means a package of stolen personally identifiable information that includes credit card data, social security number, phone number, home address, and sometimes work information.
Many dark web marketplaces for stolen information are selling fullz. One of the biggest and the most notorious is Briansclubcm.co.
BriansClub sources fullz from data breaches and sells them to its customers online. It incentivizes cybercrime by providing a safe trading place for this illicit trade.
In this article, we will see what fullz is and how BriansClub is facilitating the illegal online trade of fullz.
What Are Fullz and Why Are They Valuable?
Fullz is short for ‘full information.’ The name comes from the package contents.
Other packages of stolen information, like CVVs, are only partially useful for cybercriminals. However, fullz contains all the information the data breach revealed about the individual, including their credit card details, bank information (sometimes bank login information, too), email address, home address, phone number, social security number, and date of birth.
In short, fullz means the package of complete identity theft information.
Screenshot of the Briansclubcm.co (Briansclub) Login Page
Why Fullz are valuable in cybercrime:
- Fullz is useful for committing fraudulent activities like opening bank accounts in the victim’s name, getting credit, committing tax fraud, and purchasing with their name on.
- Fullz is priced higher, so many hackers and cybercriminals target this data type. It pays a higher price. A cyber security report shows fullz can sell between $20-$150 per package.
Type of Fullz, its Price, and Potential Fraudulent Use
| Type of Fullz | Price (USD), estimate only | Fraudulent Use |
| Basic fullz (SSN, name, DOB) | $20-$50 | Opening fraudulent bank accounts, credit card applications |
| Fullz with credit card information | $50-$100 | Online shopping, payment fraud |
| High-quality fullz (with login information, etc.) | $100-$150+ | Account takeover, identity theft, large financial fraud |
BriansClub: The Dark Web Marketplace
The next question is, where do cybercriminals sell fullz.
One of their destinations and rendezvous is Brians Club.
Briansclubcm.co is a marketplace where cybercriminals buy and sell stolen financial information, both personal and for businesses.
BriansClub has been around since 2015. They were operating underground until a 2019 data breach at their database revealed their stolen credit card pool’s massive size.
The data breach showed that BriansClub had about 26 million credit card records worth $400 million.
Though the data breach alerted the authorities and there was a crackdown on the website, BriansClub was active again within a few months. This shows that authorities haven’t gotten to the root of the cause.
Payment Methods on BriansClub
Brians Club ensures anonymity for its users. Buyers and sellers can make and receive payments on BriansClub using cryptocurrency only. BriansClub accepts Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Moreno.
Here are some key stats and facts about BriansClub.
Table: Key Statistics and Facts
| Aspect | Statistic/Fact |
| Total Records Sold | Over 26 million credit and debit card records |
| Value of Stolen Data | $414 million worth of stolen data |
| Major Breach Year | 2019 |
| Cryptocurrency Usage | Bitcoin, Monero, Litecoin |
| Financial Impact | $126 million earned in Bitcoin from sales. |
What sets BriansClub apart?
A Screenshot of the Briansclubcm.co (Briansclub) Register Page
BriansClub has thrived in the last decade. These are the things we think they are doing right for their business.
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- Professional Structure: Though calling them professional is an oxymoron, they do have a corporate-like structure that has a customer support arm and pricing structure for different tiers of buyers.
- User-friendly Design: Their website is easy to use for both sellers and buyers which makes it easy to trade on their platform.
- Reputation System: Like Amazon or Fiverr, Briansclubcm.co has a reputation system for sellers. Anyone who buys something on BClub cm can rate their purchase and the seller for quality of service and quality of product.
How BriansClub Sources Fullz?
BriansClub sources fullz and other products in the following ways.
- Data breaches and phishing scams: No. 1 source of fullz as the data is massive and makes for many packages.
- Corporate breaches: When large-scale businesses, financial institutions, and e-commerce websites are breached, that is like gold-rush for cybercriminals.
- Phishing: Small scale, phishing scams are impersonating someone trusted to the victim.
- Exploiting poor security practices: Like weak passwords, compromised software, no two-factor authentication, and not fully secure encryption.
Interesting Fact: A study by Verizon showed that about 80% of breaches in 2023 were caused by weak or stolen credentials.
Global Impact of BriansClub’s Fullz Sales
BriansClub impacts both individuals and businesses equally. Here is a brief description of the damage it causes to its victims.
Losses to Individuals
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- Personal financial losses: According to the FTC, an average victim of identity theft losses about $1100 per incident.
- Credit score damage and long-term effects: Any such loss hits hard on their credit score. Fixing credit score can potentially take years potentially, especially if there is a big dent.
Losses to Financial institutions and businesses
- Fraudulent claims and losses: When data breaches happen, banks, businesses, and financial institutions lose big. Businesses collectively lost over $45 billion globally in 2023.
- Loss of trust in institutions: Businesses that can’t protect customers’ data lose trust by the public. Bad press adds insult to injuries and makes it hard to recover for businesses.
Conclusion
Fullz is the full package of a victim’s personal and financial information. Identity theft is a part of the package of fullz.
Forums and underground marketplaces make it easy for cybercriminals to trade their proceeds of theft. It encourages cybercriminals to continue with their work.
There is a need for a global commitment by governments and individuals to improve financial security at every level and also go after criminals with a long-term plan.
