A comprehensive educational overview: Bug Bounty as a tool for ethical testing in carding
Hello! Your inquiry concerns bug bounty platforms (programs that reward vulnerabilities), but with a focus on carding — a cybersecurity term used to describe methods of testing and exploiting vulnerabilities in payment systems such as credit cards, online banking, and e-commerce. It's important to clarify: for educational purposes, we focus exclusively on white-hat carding, where the goal is to identify and fix vulnerabilities to protect users, not to commit fraud. Illegal black-hat carding is punishable by law and can result in criminal liability.Bug bounty is a legal and highly effective way for ethical hackers (researchers) to earn money by helping companies strengthen their security. In the context of carding, such programs are especially relevant, as payment systems (Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, etc.) often offer bounties for discovering vulnerabilities related to card data theft, SQL injections, or 3D Secure bypasses. Below, I will examine the three platforms mentioned (HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti) in more detail: their mechanics, relevant examples for carding, payout ranges, tips for beginners, and educational resources. The data is based on current information as of September 2025, citing official platform sources and reports (e.g., the HackerOne H1-2024 Report).
1. HackerOne: Global Leader with a Focus on Financial Systems
- Description and Mechanics: HackerOne is the largest platform for bug bounty and vulnerability disclosure programs (VDPs), founded in 2012. It unites 2 million+ researchers and serves 2,000+ companies, including giants like Google, Microsoft, and Stripe (a payment processor ideal for carding tests). The process: register for free, choose a program, test according to the rules (scope), and submit a report. The platform moderates reports to avoid duplicates and pays out the bounty after verification.
- Relevance to carding: Many programs relate to payments — for example, bounty programs from Coinbase (crypto payments) or Shopify (e-commerce). Vulnerabilities such as "credential stuffing" (an automated attack on logins using stolen cards) or "payment gateway bypass" are often rewarded. In 2024, HackerOne recorded 1.2 million reports, 15% of which were related to the financial sector.
- Payout range: $1,000–$100,000+ per vulnerability.
- Low (low severity, eg weak map-shaped CAPTCHA): $500–$2,000.
- High/Critical (e.g. SQLi, which allows dumping of the map database): $5,000–$50,000.
- Exceptional (e.g. RCE in payment API): up to $100,000+ with bonuses (e.g. $150,000 in Intel's hardware vulnerability program).
- Total payout: >$150 million by 2025, with an average bounty of $3,650.
- Tips for carding beginners: Start with VDP programs (no bounty, but for experience). Study the OWASP Top 10 for payments (injection, broken auth). Test only in scope—violating the rules will result in a ban. Example: In 2023, a researcher found a vulnerability in PayPal that allowed CVV check bypass and earned $20,000.
- Educational resources: HackerOne University (free courses on ethical hacking), H1-2024 Report (analysis of trends in financial vulnerabilities).
2. Bugcrowd: Flexible crowdsourcing with an emphasis on severity-based rewards
- Description and Mechanics: Founded in 2012, Bugcrowd combines bug bounty with crowdsourced pentesting. The platform uses Vulnerability Rating Taxonomy (VRT) to classify vulnerabilities by severity (P1–P5). Registration is free, but private programs require an invite. Payouts are made via PayPal or ACH, with a focus on quick reviews (48 hours).
- Relevance to carding: Ideal for testing payment systems—programs from Mastercard, Western Union, and Square often include carding scenarios, such as "card-not-present" fraud or MITM attacks on tokenization. In 2024, 20% of Bugcrowd reports concerned fintech, with attacks on payment APIs on the rise.
- Payout Range: $500–$20,000+ (VRT Recommended, Updated 2023):
- P5 (low, eg exposed map metadata): $50–$500.
- P3 (medium, eg IDOR in profile with map): $1,000–$3,000.
- P1 (critical, eg XSS in checkout leading to token theft): $5,000–$20,000+ (custom bonuses up to $50,000 in top programs).
- Total volume: >$50 million in payouts, average bounty $2,800.
- Beginner carding tips: Use Bugcrowd Levels (researcher rankings) to access private programs. Focus on recon (Burp Suite for intercepting payment traffic). Example: In 2024, a $15,000 bounty was awarded for a vulnerability in Venmo (P2P payments) that allowed replay attacks on transactions.
- Educational resources: Bugcrowd University (courses on VRT and pentesting), annual "State of Crowdsourced Cybersecurity" report (statistics on fintech vulnerabilities).
3. Intigriti: A European Focus on Agile Testing for Fintech
- Description and mechanics: A Belgian platform (since 2017), focused on Europe, with over 10,000 researchers. Supports bug bounty, pentesting, and challenges. The Bug Bounty Calculator is a unique tool for estimating payouts. Process: Invite-based for top programs, but open to everyone. Payouts are in EUR via SEPA.
- Relevance for carding: Strong emphasis on EU regulations (GDPR, PSD2), which is relevant for payments. Programs from Revolut, N26, and Adyen test for vulnerabilities such as SCA bypass (Strong Customer Authentication) or data leakage in the PSD2 API. An analysis of over 640 programs shows that fintech is the top industry (25% of bounties).
- Payout range: $500–$100,000 (by industry, 2024 data):
- Low (e.g. rate limiting in card form): €300–€1,000 ($330–$1,100).
- Medium (e.g. CSRF in map update): €1,000–€5,000 ($1,100–$5,500).
- Critical (e.g. API vuln, allowing token dumps): €10,000–€50,000+ ($11,000–$55,000); up to €90,000 ($100,000) in blockchain/fintech.
- Total volume: >€20 million, average €4,200 ($4,600).
- Tips for carding beginners: Use the calculator to simulate bounties. Test for compliance vulnerabilities (e.g., PCI DSS violations). Example: In 2023, a €25,000 fine was paid for a vulnerability in Bunq (mobile banking) that allowed unauthorized card provisioning.
- Educational resources: Intigriti Academy (webinars on PSD2 and ethical card testing), "Bug Bounty Report 2024" (trends in European fintech).
A quick comparison chart for carding
| Platform | Best for... | Min. payout (carding-related) | Max payout (critical) | Number of fintech programs (approximately) | A unique feature for education |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HackerOne | Global payment giants (Stripe, PayPal) | $500 | $100,000+ | 150+ | University courses on OWASP |
| Bugcrowd | API and mobile payments (Venmo, Square) | $50–$500 | $20,000+ | 100+ | VRT taxonomy for severity |
| Integrates | EU fintech (Revolut, Adyen) | €300 ($330) | €90,000 ($100,000) | 80+ | Bug Bounty Calculator |
Final educational tips
- Ethics first: Always adhere to the "Rules of Engagement" — test only approved targets and do not store card data. Certifications like CEH or OSCP will help your career.
- Carding testing tools: Burp Suite, Postman (for APIs), Wireshark (traffic). Learn PCI DSS standards.
- How to get started: Sign up for all three, starting with the open programs (e.g., "HackerOne Hacktivity" for ideas). Average beginner earnings: $1,000–$5,000 in the first year with 5–10 reports.
- Risks and trends: In 2025, the focus on AI-driven fraud detection is growing, so vulnerabilities in ML payment models are a hot topic.
If you need more detail (e.g. a guide to a specific vulnerability or the top 10 programs for carding), please clarify!
