Carding Forums as a Digital Tribe: Hierarchy, Slang, and Code of Honor in the Underground (An In-Depth Analysis of the Subculture and Its Inner Laws)

[Professor]

Introduction: The Shadow Agora.
Beyond the public internet, behind the barriers of anonymous networks and invite systems, a parallel social universe exists — closed carding forums. These are not just technical platforms for data exchange, but full-fledged digital tribal societies with their own structure, language, norms, and punishment system. Studying them is key to understanding not only the mechanisms of crime but also the social dynamics of the criminal underground in the digital age.

Chapter 1: The Architecture of Power: Rigid Hierarchy and Social Elevators​

The hierarchy in this tribe is built not on formal titles, but on reputation (reputation) , tested by time and results. It is visualized by a rank system, access to closed sections, and nickname color.

1. Upper Caste: Administration (Admins, Creator).
   • Functions: Digital "leaders" and "priests." They ensure the forum's technical security (DDoS and surveillance protection), administer the highest court, and set the rules. Their identities are a closely guarded secret. Often, they are not active carders, but rather technical architects who earn income from commissions on transactions or advertising sales.
2. Elite: Moderators (Mods), Veterans (Respects), Verified Sellers (Vendors).
   • Guarantors (or TOP uts from "vendor"): The heart of the forum economy. These are sellers who have made a large security deposit into the forum treasury. When a transaction is carried out with them, the guarantor holds the buyer's money until the successful delivery of the goods. This reduces the risk of scams to zero. Being a guarantor is the highest level of trust, bringing in huge profits.
   • Respect: Users with many years of experience, whose knowledge and advice are valued. Their "reputation" can't be bought, it can only be earned.
3. Main tribe: Regular users (Members).
   • They have access to basic sections. Their goal is to accumulate posts, receive invites to more restricted sections, and build an initial reputation by providing useful services (software writing, article translation, method analysis).
4. Lower caste: Newbies (Noobs, Dummies), Trusted (Trusts) and Outcasts (Scammers).
   • Noobs: Required to spend a long time "reading the rules" and passing verification. Any attempt to immediately ask "where can I download carding software?" will result in ridicule and a ban.
   • Trusted: An intermediate status for those who have successfully completed several transactions or made a valuable contribution.
   • Scammers: Enemies of the tribe. Their nicknames, writing styles, and wallet addresses are added to blacklists that circulate across forums. It's digital death in the underground.

Chapter 2: Tribal Cryptolect: Slang as Password and Protection​

The language of carding forums is a powerful tool for social identification. Knowing it is a passport to the insider's circle; ignorance of it marks an outsider (a sucker or a cop).

Key categories of slang:

• Tools and data:
  • Dump: Map data (track1, track2).
  • Base: A set of dumps.
  • Bin (BIN): The first digits of the card number.
  • Fullz/Фулзы: Complete set of data per person (card + passport + history).
  • Checker: Software for checking cards for liveness.
  • Drop: Address or person to receive goods/money.
  • Logs: Browser/account session data.
  • WU: Western Union. PP: PayPal.
• Actions and processes:
  • Carding: To engage in fraudulent activity with cards.
  • Clone: Make a duplicate of a map from a dump.
  • Cash Out/Cash Out: Convert virtual money into cash.
  • Scam: To deceive a partner in a transaction.
  • Stir up the pot: Attract the attention of law enforcement to the project.
  • Lit: The object (drop, store, method) has become known to the authorities or security services.
• People:
  • Bull/Dropper: Someone who withdraws cash from an ATM.
  • Huckster: A seller of data or tools.
  • Joker: A person who places drop orders.
  • Mulya/Mule (Money Mule): Financial intermediary for transfers.
  • LOH: An easily deceived person (often a victim).
• States and phenomena:
  • Fraud: Fraud in a broad sense.
  • Arbitration: This is a dishonest money-making scheme.
  • The house is on fire: A situation when someone's house is being searched.
  • Vatnik/Deer: Non-professional, amateur.

Chapter 3: Code of Honor and Justice: Laws of the Digital Savannah​

Outside the law of the state, the community develops its own strict rules that ensure a minimum of trust—the main scarce resource in an environment of universal deception.

1. No Scam Policy: The main and unbreakable taboo. Cheating a transaction partner within the community is punished mercilessly – permanent ban, blacklisting from all related resources, and sometimes leaking the offender's information to the public or even to law enforcement as an act of "purge."
2. Due Diligence: The "trust, but verify" rule has been taken to its extreme. Before making a deal, everyone checks the seller's username history, their reviews (V&E system), the availability of a security deposit with the guarantor, and the "cleanliness" of the bins through separate services.
3. Keep a low profile (OPSEC): Bragging about real income or leaking information that could lead to the identification of participants (photo metadata, unique writing styles) is prohibited. Posts asking questions like "Will I get caught?" will be ridiculed and deleted.
4. Respect knowledge: A newcomer should show respect by studying the archive (using search) before asking basic questions. Knowledge is the most valuable asset, and it's not given away lightly.
5. Dispute Resolution System: If a transaction goes wrong, the parties open a dispute in a dedicated section. Moderators act as judges, reviewing conversation logs and payment screenshots. The decision is generally final and not subject to appeal.

Chapter 4: Rituals, Myths, and Tribal Culture​

The tribe creates its own mythology to unite and legitimize its existence.

• Initiation ritual: The process of registering, receiving an invite, gaining your first posts, and passing an "exam" to test your knowledge of the rules.
• The cult of ancestors and legends: Forums are filled with legends about "carding kings" of the past (like hacker MAXIM), who retired with millions. Their stories are a motivating myth for newcomers.
• Symbolism and aesthetics: The use of certain images in avatars and signatures—hacker paraphernalia (Guy Fawkes masks, symbols of anonymity), images from films (The Matrix, Fight Club), emphasizing exclusivity and detachment from the ordinary world.
• The "Robin Hood" narrative: Self-justification through the narrative "we rob corporations and insurance companies, not people" or "everyone steals, we're just smarter" is common. This is an important psychological mechanism for relieving moral discomfort.

Conclusion: The Fragile Utopia of Anonymity.
Carding forums are a paradoxical entity: an anarchic community striving for order. They create a semblance of stability and justice in a completely unstable and unjust environment.

However, this system is fragile. It is undermined from within by law enforcement agents disguised as sellers, perpetual suspicion, and greed, leading to scams even among "their own." Ultimately, a digital tribe based on a total distrust of the outside world cannot create a truly sustainable social construct. It is doomed to constant turnover, paranoia, and disintegration, remaining only a temporary refuge for those who have chosen the path of digital piracy in the sea of global finance.

This tribe is not the future, but an archaic social experiment in a digital shell, cruelly reflecting eternal human vices: the thirst for profit, the desire for status, and the search for community even on the darkest paths.