Hackers are reportedly using a new online currency to launder cash and conceal profits.
Online scammers and thieves are using Perfect Money’s digital currency in much the same way they allegedly did with Liberty Reserve’s currency, according to technology multinational EMC Corp’s head of cyber intelligence Idan Aharoni.
Reuters reported that on behalf of EMC Corp clients, which include major financial institutions, Aharoni and his team monitor internet forums that hackers use to sell stolen credit card information.
Aharoni said after Liberty Reserve was taken down in May, activity on these forums initially slowed and then picked up again, with some hackers saying they would accept Perfect Money for payments.
Aharoni told Reuters: "We expected a large migration to another e-currency, and that has happened."
US prosecutors accused Liberty Reserve in May of laundering $6bn in illicit profits in its Costa Rica-based operations for around seven years.
Recently, federal prosecutors in the US have charged five men over a global hacking and data breach scheme, which cost companies more than $300m.
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Hackers stole over 160m credit card numbers and conspired with others to penetrate the computer networks of several of the largest payment processing companies, retailers and financial institutions globally.
