A recent study of credit card cloning around the world revealed some startling disparities in the risks customers face across Latin America and the price of buying this stolen information.

The global report, carried out by NordVPN, a leading virtual private network company, found that around four million credit cards had their details stolen and put up for sale on the dark web.

The United States accounted for the largest percentage of credit cards, with over 1.5 million sets of card details found. But as the report pointed out, this did not mean US customers were more at risk, as the usage of credit cards per capita varies widely around the world.

Here, InSight Crime explores the report’s findings in Latin America.

1. Brazil, Mexico and Puerto Rico Most at Risk

Each country in the report had its credit card fraud risk level placed on a scale of zero to one. Credit card users in Mexico, Puerto Rico and Brazil were found to be at the highest risk of having their details stolen and sold in Latin America. Each of these three countries scored 0.6 on the scale.

These results are not surprising. Brazil and Mexico are the two economic titans in the region, with high levels of international investment and strong e-commerce. Despite this, the usage of credit cards varies widely.

In Brazil, credit cards are almost ubiquitous, with over 80 percent of the population having one, according to government statistics from July 2021. In comparison, only 15 percent of Mexicans use credit cards and most people still pay in cash, according to the Ministry of Finance….ReadMore…