History of UniCC Carding Shop: Rise and Fall

[Jollier]

1. Foundation and flourishing (2017–2021)​

UniCC (Unified Carders Community) is one of the largest darknet markets specializing in the sale of:
✔ Dumped cards (Track 1/Track 2)
✔ CVV data (numbers, expiration dates, CVV codes)
✔ Fake documents (ID, passports)

Key Features:​

• Reputation system: Reviews, seller ratings, escrow payments.
• Automation: API for checking cards before purchasing.
• Crypto payments: BTC, XMR (Monero) for anonymity.

Peak activity: 2019–2020 — more than 500,000 cards in the database.

2. Technical infrastructure​

• Hosting: Servers in Russia and Ukraine (according to Group-IB analysts).
• Protection:
  • Tor mirrors (to bypass blocking).
  • DDoS protection (using Stresser services).
  • Multi-factor authentication for merchants.

3. Reasons for the fall (2021–2022)​

A. Law enforcement operation​

• December 2021: A coalition of Europol, the FBI and the Ukrainian cyber police carried out a raid.
• Seized:
  • Servers with data of 6 million cards.
  • Crypto wallets worth $5.8 million

B. Internal conflicts​

• Exit-scam (2022): Administrators warned that they were "retiring", but in the end, not all carders managed to withdraw or spend money from the balance, and in the end, the administrators' money disappeared with the users' money.
• Competition: Rise of Alternatives (BidenCash, Trump's Dumps).

4. Implications for the carding scene​

• Strengthening regulation: Banks have implemented 3DS 2.0 and ML anti-fraud.
• Change of tactics:
  • Transition to Telegram channels and closed clubs.
  • Use of pop-up shops.