Law enforcement in Russia has blocked major sites on the dark web, including a carding market leader. The platforms have been seized amid ongoing investigations into hacking groups, with Russian authorities ramping up efforts to dismantle cybercrime rings and detain their members.
Russia’s interior ministry targets stolen credit card market
The Russian Federation’s Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) has brought down four major websites operating on the dark web, blockchain forensics firm Elliptic has revealed. The sites have been blocked by Directorate “K”, a unit of MVD combating computer related crime.
The platforms seized are Sky-Fraud Forum, Trump’s Dump, U.S. Store and Ferrum Shop, which in January became leading markets for stolen credit cards after UniCC, the largest marketplace, the report details.
According to Elliptic estimates, the sites have collectively generated over $263 million in crypto sales in bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), and litecoin (LTC) prior to the closure. Ferrum accounts for the bulk of that amount, generating $256 million in bitcoin, or 17% of the carding market.
Another website that distributes compromised card data, Trump’s Dump, has reportedly earned about $4.1 million since its launch in 2017. Both sites were advertised on a sky-fraud forum, where carding techniques and money laundering tips were among the main topics. Directorate “K” apparently left a message in its source code, which reads: “Which one of you is next?”
[#Russia] SKY-FRAUD & FERUM, famous Russian #carding Platforms closed by Russian authorities.
Officials have left an Easter Egg on the code source saying “Which one of you is next?”#Cyber crimes #take down #infosec #banking pic.twitter.com/RbNTkWPHIc
— Soufian Tahiri (@s0ufi4n3) 7 February 2022
The fourth blocked website, UAS Store, was a platform offering stolen Remote Desktop Protocol credentials, which cybercriminals use to gain access to victims’ accounts from other devices. These violations have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic as more employees are now working from home. Since the end of 2017, the U.S. Store has generated approximately $3 million in cryptocurrency.
Elliptic notes that the latest seizure has been executed after the previous top carding market, Unicc, and its affiliated proxy market Luxsocks went untraceable in mid-January. The recovery also came after the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) arrested the suspected administrator of UNIC. Researchers claim that the crypto earnings of the two platforms have reached $372 million.
Meanwhile, MVD sought the arrest of six unidentified hackers who were accused of “illegal circulation of means of payment” through a Moscow court. Whether this group is related to closed down dark web sites or not is not yet clear. Last month, the FSB and MVD busted the notorious Revil ransomware group, at the request of the US, which detained 14 suspected members.
Do you think Russia will continue to crack down on dark web platforms and hacking groups? Tell us in the comments section below.
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