The article I referenced is old, so it is possible that Amzn (and the criminals) have evolved. It used to be randomly generated e-books, now it is a real book. Maybe Amzn checks to see if the uploaded material is legit, and rejects the old-style random text. By latching onto a real book, this becomes less of an issue.
As for the pricing, I am guessing it is just a side effect of the normal behavior. It would make sense for the criminal to not change from default settings when setting up the account, ergo include it in these algos.
Would you be able to pay for something in the millions via normal payment methods though? The laundering makes sense for the smaller numbers like in the link (~$500) but these huge values make it seem unlikely to me (and would surely draw attention?)
I don't know about elsewhere in the world but I don't think I could spend >50k on a card in the UK without some kind of prior authorisation.
Comments
The author's hypothesis sounds reasonable, but it is most likely not arbitrage as @neilv mentioned it. It is money laundering.[0]
[0] https://krebsonsecurity.com/2018/02/money-laundering-via-aut...
(edit: spelligating correctivization)
I thought so at first too, but that doesn’t explain the steady price increases. Two algorithms competing against each other does.
The article I referenced is old, so it is possible that Amzn (and the criminals) have evolved. It used to be randomly generated e-books, now it is a real book. Maybe Amzn checks to see if the uploaded material is legit, and rejects the old-style random text. By latching onto a real book, this becomes less of an issue.
As for the pricing, I am guessing it is just a side effect of the normal behavior. It would make sense for the criminal to not change from default settings when setting up the account, ergo include it in these algos.
And it really doesn't explain the price going back down to a more competitive price.
Would you be able to pay for something in the millions via normal payment methods though? The laundering makes sense for the smaller numbers like in the link (~$500) but these huge values make it seem unlikely to me (and would surely draw attention?)
I don't know about elsewhere in the world but I don't think I could spend >50k on a card in the UK without some kind of prior authorisation.