Fierce competition among identity thieves has driven the prices for stolen data down to bargain-basement levels, according to a report on Internet security threats.
Credit card numbers were selling for as little as 40 cents each and access to a bank account was going for $10 in the second half of 2007, according to Symantec Corp.
The data is usually sold through instant-message groups or web forums that exist for only a few days or even hours, it said.
Researchers said they found Internet fraudsters are hiring teams of hackers to create new viruses and offering volume discounts on stolen data to get larger orders.
