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Psst. Are you in the market for a social security number or three, by any chance? How about access to a compromised bank account? It will cost you - about 6 to 11 cents on the dollar.

At least, that is what the creators of this recently-discovered price list were demanding, according to researchers at McAfee Avert Labs. Access to a Washington Mutual bank account with a $14,000 balance would set you back a mere €500 - or around $771. Or, if you preferred an European account, you could score a BNP Paribas joint worth €30,792 for €2,200.

Prices vary depending on the available balance, bank organization and country, according to McAfee’s Francois Paget. And some sellers even offer guarantees - if, for example, you are unable to log in to your chosen account within 24 hours, you will be given a replacement. Some sites also offer free data to establish that they are - er - legit. Others extend volume discounts to encourage larger orders.
This underground marketplace is keenly competitive, according to Symantec’s latest Global Internet Security Threat Report, and prices are falling because of the increased supply of such data from Chinese and Russian sources.

In some cases, batches of 500 credit card numbers were selling for $200 a pop, or just 40 cents each, in the second half of last year. Six months earlier, such data would have cost around 50 per cent more, and would only have been available in batches of 100, according to the report.

You may ask about the customer service, and it is all about reputation:

“If the seller says there’s $10,000 in a bank account, and there isn’t $10,000 in there, their ability to sell will drop through the floor,” Alfred Huger, vice president of Symantec Security Response, told AP. “It’s a sort of honor among thieves, and it’s very strictly enforced.”

Good to know. Now, excuse us while we go shred our credit card receipts.