Computer security company Symantec's latest research, on the underground economy, looks into the market created and run by cyber criminals across the world.
The majority of activity that makes up the underground economy takes place covertly in web-based forums and on internet relay chat (IRC) channels.
Credit card data, bank account details, email accounts and other personal details are exploited for profit within these discussion platforms.
Symantec's report, which covers the 2007/08 financial year, also examined the rate of software piracy through file sharing.
It found the goods advertised in the underground economy over the research period was potentially worth $276 million, while credit card and bank account details may have exposed over $US6 billion in funds to cyber crime.
About four per cent of supply activity in the underground economy was traced to Australia, Symantec said.
Managing director of Symantec Australia and New Zealand, Craig Scroggie, said the underground economy had become a mature and efficient marketplace.
"We used to tell people in the past don't go down the dark alleys of the internet, but the reality is fraud is coming closer to home every day," Scroggie told reporters.
Consumers should adopt several, overlapping defence software strategies to best protect their electronic property, Symantec said.
Limiting the amount of personal details on social networking sites would also reduce the risk of exposure to cyber fraud, Scroggie said.
Businesses should be implementing database encryption, and preventing sensitive information from being copied to portable media such as discs and USB devices.
