Russia’s law enforcement authorities have blocked key sites from the dark internet, including that of a leader in carding markets. These platforms were seized during ongoing Russian investigations into hacking organizations. Russian authorities are intensifying their efforts to detain and dismantle cybercrime rings.
Stolen Credit Cards Market Stolen by the Interior Ministry of Russia
According to Elliptic, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation has taken down four websites that were operating on the dark internet. The sites have been blocked by Directorate “K”, MVD’s unit combatting computer-related crime.
The seized platforms are the Sky-Fraud forum, Trump’s Dumps, UAS Store, and Ferum Shop, which became the leading market for stolen credit cards after the largest marketplace in the niche, Unicc, was taken offline in January, the report details.
According to Elliptic’s estimate, the sites have collectively made more than $263 million in crypto sales denominated in bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), and litecoin (LTC) before they were shut down. Ferum is responsible for most of this amount, with $256 million in bitcoin generated. This accounts for 17% of carding market.
Trump’s Dumps, another website distributing compromised card data, has allegedly made around $4.1 million since its launch in 2017. The sites were both advertised on Sky Fraud, where cards and money laundering were common topics. Directorate “K” has apparently left a message in its source code, reading: “Which one of you is next?”
[#Russia] SKY-FRAUD & FERUM, famous Russian #cardingRussian authorities close forums
Authorities left an easter egg on the code source saying “WHICH ONE OF YOU IS NEXT?”#cybercrime #takedown #infosec #banking pic.twitter.com/RbNTkWPHIc
— Soufiane Tahiri (@S0ufi4n3) February 7, 2022
The fourth blocked website, UAS Store, was a platform offering stolen remote desktop protocol credentials that cybercriminals use to gain access to victims’ accounts from other devices. This has been a result of more workers working remotely, such as the Covid-19 epidemic. UAS Store made approximately $3 million in cryptocurrency since late 2017.
Elliptic points out that these latest seizures were made after Unicc and Luxsocks became unaccessible mid-January. The seizures also came after the subsequent arrest of Unicc’s suspected administrator by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB). According to researchers, the cryptocurrency proceeds from the platforms totaled $372 million.
Meanwhile, the MVD has sought through a Moscow court the arrest of six unidentified hackers accused of “illegal circulation of means of payment.” Whether the group is linked to the closed-down dark web sites is not clear yet. The Revil ransomware organization was busted by FSB, MVD and the U.S. on a U.S. demand. They were detained with 14 other suspects.
Is Russia likely to continue cracking down on hacker groups and dark web sites? Leave your comments below.
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