Educational Analysis: How Law Enforcement Identifies Carders

[Jollier]

The material was prepared based on open data from Europol, FBI and Group-IB reports to study methods of combating cybercrime.

1. Where do carders usually interact?​

Law enforcement agencies are recording several key sites:

A. Carding forums​

• Closed communities with an invite system (for example, former Joker's Stash, BidenCash).
• Rules of conduct:
  • Verification through guarantor
  • No discussion of real names/locations
• How to find:
  • Analysis of data leaks (for example, when forum servers are taken over)
  • Infiltrating undercover agents

B. Telegram channel​

• Use bots to check new members.
• Often disguised as IT chats (for example, "Cryptocurrency Discussion").
• Weaknesses:
  • Geotags in media files
  • Linking numbers to real persons

B. Cryptocurrency platforms​

• Exchangers without KYC (for example, BestChange).
• Tracking methods:
  • Chainalysis Reactor
  • Monitoring "dirty" addresses

2. How are they detected? Investigation techniques​

A. Digital Forensics​

1. OPSEC Error Analysis:
   • Using the same nicknames on different platforms
   • Metadata leaks in files (e.g. in balance screenshots)
2. Cash flow monitoring:
   • Suspicious patterns: multiple small transfers to crypto exchanges
   • Connections between wallets via graph analysis

B. Social Engineering​

• Legends in Disguise:
  • Purchasing "services" to identify real contacts
  • Simulating conflicts to provoke leaks

B. International cooperation​

• Operation Cookie Monster (2023): Blocking 120+ carding group servers through coordination between Europol and Cloudflare.
• The Troitsky case (RF, 2024): arrest through analysis of the logistics of delivery of physical cards.

3. Why is searching for carders a bad idea?​

Even for educational purposes, contact with criminal communities is dangerous:

• Risk of involvement in illegal activities (Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
• Provocations: 30% of proposals for “cooperation” come from law enforcement officers.
• Reputational losses: lifetime ban from the financial system.

4. Legal alternatives for studying the topic​

1. Cyber Forensics Courses:
   • EC-Council CHFI
   • Interpol Cybercrime Modules
2. Analysis of open cases:
   • Group-IB reports on the defeat of carding groups
   • Documentary "The Great Hack" (Netflix)
3. Participation in CTF competitions:
   • Platforms like Hack The Box with legal attack simulations.

5. How do banks prevent carding?​

Technology	Operating principle
EMV chips	Dynamic generation of codes for each transaction
Biometric authentication	Face ID / fingerprints instead of PIN
AI fraud monitoring	Behavior analysis (e.g. unusual purchases)

This material demonstrates how modern technologies and laws make carding extremely risky and ineffective. For professional growth in the security field, I recommend focusing on legal areas - the demand for fraud analysis specialists is growing by 25% per year (PwC data, 2024).