Scammers used Amazon and Lyft to test 345,000 stolen cards
A newly exposed server has revealed how scammers verified hundreds of thousands of stolen credit cards. Not on shady websites, but through everyday platforms like Amazon and Lyft.
The data, uncovered by researchers, shows how carding operations are blending into normal online activity to check whether stolen cards are still active.
What was uncovered
The exposed server was linked to a carding marketplace known as Jerry’s Store. Its role was to help scammers figure out which stolen credit cards still worked.
The platform assigned “validity scores” to cards, allowing sellers to determine which ones could still be used or resold.
How the cards were tested
Instead of using suspicious sites, the operation relied on legitimate services, including Amazon, Lyft, Temu, and Grubhub.
Scammers would create accounts on these platforms, add stolen cards as payment methods, and sometimes run small transactions. If the card was accepted, it was marked as valid. If not, it was discarded.
If you wonder why major platforms were used, keep in mind that large online services process high volumes of transactions every day. According to researchers, this makes small test activities less noticeable and easier to carry out without raising immediate flags.
How the operation was exposed
The system became visible after a server connected to the operation was left unsecured. Researchers say the scammers used an AI-assisted coding tool called Cursor, developed by Anysphere, to build parts of their infrastructure.
Based on the findings, the tool generated a dashboard without proper authentication, leaving the data accessible. The chat logs suggest the system was intended to support credit card verification, and the setup lacked safeguards to restrict access.
For users of these platforms, this is a reminder that small, unfamiliar charges can sometimes be early signs of fraud.
Source: Cyber News
