No legitimate website exists where you can sell CVV numbers. Selling, buying, or brokering card verification values is carding, a federal offense in the US under 18 U.S.C. § 1029, and every marketplace that claims to offer it is an illegal operation run by criminals who routinely steal from their own users. If you are a merchant looking for a way to accept card payments, the answer is a PCI DSS compliant payment processor, not a CVV shop.
Is there any legal marketplace for selling CVV codes?
No. A CVV is authentication data bound to a specific payment card and its true owner, so it has no lawful owner other than the cardholder and the issuing bank. There is no licensed exchange, auction site, or broker anywhere that handles CVV data as a tradable asset. Any site advertising CVV sales is trafficking in stolen financial credentials.
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What actually happens inside a so-called CVV shop?
These sites present a polished storefront with balances, escrow, and automated checkers, but the operators control every layer of the transaction. Common outcomes include exit scams, stolen deposits, resold and already-blocked cards, and extortion of users who supplied identity documents to register. Law enforcement agencies monitor and infiltrate these platforms, and account records become evidence in prosecutions.
What are the penalties for selling CVVs in the United States?
- Up to 15 years in federal prison for trafficking in unauthorized access devices under 18 U.S.C. § 1029.
- Mandatory consecutive time added for aggravated identity theft under 18 U.S.C. § 1028A.
- Fines, forfeiture of proceeds and equipment, and restitution to victims and banks.
- Civil liability to card issuers and processors for chargebacks and fraud losses.
If you are a merchant, where should you handle card data instead?
Pick a processor that accepts the CVV on your behalf and never hands it back to your systems. Hosted payment fields and network tokenization keep the card verification value entirely inside the processor's PCI DSS environment, which removes the data from your servers, logs, and support tools. That single design choice satisfies PCI DSS Requirement 3.2, which forbids storing the CVV after authorization even in encrypted form.
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First choice: a processor with hosted fields and tokenization
Start with a provider whose checkout collects card details in an iframe or hosted page you do not control, then returns only a token. Stripe, Adyen, and Braintree all fit this model and publish PCI DSS attestations. Any of the three keeps your business out of CVV storage entirely.
Other options worth comparing
- Square: strong for in-person and simple online stores, with a bundled virtual terminal.
- Authorize.net: a long-standing gateway that pairs with multiple merchant acquirers.
- PayPal Payments: useful as a secondary button for buyers who prefer wallet checkout.
How do you keep your own CVV from being sold?
Never read your card number and CVV aloud to an inbound caller, and never type them into a page reached from an unsolicited text or email. Use virtual card numbers from your issuer for online subscriptions so a leaked number expires on its own. Check statements weekly, because fast detection limits what a stolen CVV is worth on any illicit market.
Where do you report a site that sells CVVs?
File a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and with the FTC, then notify your card issuer so the credentials can be blocked. Reporting is the practical step that turns a criminal storefront into a case file.