Thus, the USSS cautions anyone from saying that online criminals are doing X because it may only reflect the activities of a certain subset and not the whole.
In a supplemental appendix, the USSS cited the increasing diversity of the criminal underground, with bad actors clustering around Internet Relay Channels (IRC), Internet-based chat rooms, or Web-based forums.
The USSS said that the most organized structure exists within the forums where administrators tightly control who is and is not a member, and promote those who demonstrate the skills or services most in need.