Carders set up networks in tourism

[Lord777]

Can I save 50% on hotel reservations?​

At the height of the tourist season, carders have become more active on the Internet, offering 50% discounts on hotel check-ins via Booking.com car rental and any events in Russia's favorite countries. Payment is made with stolen cards, which explains the discount. Editorial Office I found out how carders work now and what consequences their client may face.

How it works​

On one of the correspondent forums I talked to a user who posted photos from hotels in London, the Dominican Republic, Maldives, Dubai, Cyprus, as well as showing rented cars and sharing their impressions of visiting events and nightclubs during May and June. In correspondence, the man confirmed that the booking is paid with stolen cards, mainly in the United States. But it doesn't bother him: "Card or account holders usually don't notice small amounts of debiting. Or they notice it at the end of the month. Therefore, the money is transferred first to other accounts, and they are already used to pay for hotels. The service gets its money, the customer gets their hotel room." The loser in this situation, in his opinion, is the bank: "The hotel receives the money, the client returns the debited funds, and for the bank this is a cost."
The user also admitted that this way he visited many countries, saving about a million rubles. All this resembled advertising, so the correspondent I contacted the person who provides such services myself.

"Sorry, our service is not suitable for you"​

The Telegram user introduced himself as the deputy owner of the tourist "service". He said that recently it was necessary to create a new channel for work, as the old one was banned "because of complaints from competitors." Here are its rules of operation.

1. You can only book hotels in non-CIS countries. The service does not work with hotels in Russia and CIS countries.
2. Cryptocurrency is accepted for payment, but you can also use a bank transfer.
3. Please contact us 7 days before booking hotels, flights, cars, or event tickets.
4. Tickets or reservations must cost at least 50 thousand rubles. Half of this amount must be paid to the courier.
5. It does not provide a 100% guarantee for the performance of services and recommends that you have an amount to pay for the full cost of accommodation and services.
6. In case of problems with check-in, the carder promises to pick up another hotel or refund the prepayment amount.

In the correspondence, the representative of the "service" also said that the maximum number of days of stay in the hotel is 10. If you want to stay in the country longer, you will have to change hotels on a regular basis.

The interviewee first answered clarifying questions: "Everything will be fine," but then called them stupid, and then wrote: "Sorry, our service is not suitable for you." To prove his reputation, carder sent a link to a page on the darknet with similar reviews.

What's the catch of carding?​

About this I reported it 3 years ago. Attackers make reservations using personal data of a tourist and information from someone else's credit card. The calculation here is that when booking a hotel on the eve of arrival, the deception will not be revealed yet: the hotel will see the real booking, place the client, and the client will transfer 50% of the bill for accommodation to the benefactors, i.e., taking into account the above-described conditions of the "promotion" – at least 25 thousand rubles. When the cardholder protests the transaction in a day or two, the trusting customer will not be able to do anything.

The hotel will charge you for the room fee. Thus, instead of a discount, the tourist will receive 150% of the price. At best, this bill will have to be paid, at worst, it will be followed by a trial with the police.