No benefits, no social security, no resume, no references (outside the criminal world, if they even use references), no personal network (outside crime), permanent and catastrophic damage to your reputation if you are caught ... but you save on taxes!

yeah but considering the risks it's actually very, very bad.

There was a part in the article about cyber criminal gangs having a steady stream of cheap programmers.

Presumably there in cities with "drug problems", there are also a steady stream of relatively young kids with limited options, and no desire to stay in school.

It's not tax free. The IRS has a line for you to report illegal income on. If you do illegal profit-making activities you are guilty of tax evasion unless you pay your taxes on those ill gotten gains.

Unfortunately, very often it's not lead-free.