Web Mobs

Baseline Magazine has an article profiling Shadowcrew, an online criminal organization that, in its heyday, had 4,000 members, and trafficked in stolen credit cards and identities. It was shutdown by the US Secret Service in the fall of 2004, but not before its crimes had cost businesses upwards of $4 million in damages. Shadowcrew is a web mob, and it was most likely not the largest, well organized or effective as the others that exist out there. Web mobs exist online, and they steal identities, credit card information, and sell them for as little as $1 online. They also provide the framework to facilitate the online sale of stolen information. They are a menace to businesses hoping to leverage the internet for e-commerce. Read the article for Baseline's dissection of web mobs -- learn how they operate, how easy it is to become a victim and how little there is that crime fighters can do against them today.