The Feds seize the "Dark Web Hub" Wall Street Market – Krebs on security

Federal investigators in the United States, Germany and the Netherlands announced today the arrest and indictment of three German nationals and a Brazilian, alleged perpetrators of the project. Wall street market (WSM), one of the world's largest Web bazaars, allowing sellers to sell illegal drugs, counterfeit goods and malware. Today, at least one former WSM administrator reportedly attempted to extort money from WSM sellers and buyers (supposed to include Yours Truly), in exchange for not publishing transaction details. .

The market today disappeared from Wall Street (WSM). Image: Dark Web Reviews.

A lawsuit filed in Los Angeles on Wednesday alleges that the three defendants, currently in detention in Germany, were the administrators of WSM, a sophisticated online marketplace available in six languages, allowing approximately 5,400 sellers to sell illegal products at around 1,15 million customers around the world.

"Like other black markets previously closed by the authorities – Silk Road and AlphaBay, for example – WSM functioned as a conventional e-commerce website, but it was not the same. a hidden service located out of reach of traditional Internet browsers, accessible only through use. networks designed to hide the identities of users, such as the Tor network, "reads a statement from the Ministry of Justice released Friday morning.

The lawsuit alleges that for nearly three years, three men who organized an "exit scam" last month exploited WSM, concealing all the virtual currency held in blocked accounts and user accounts. Prosecutors said they believed virtual currencies valued at about $ 11 million had been diverted into the accounts of the three men.

Among those indicted in the United States who arrested Germany on April 23 and 24, there is a 23-year-old Kleve resident; a resident of Wurzburg, Germany, aged 31; and a resident of Stuttgart, Germany, aged 29. The complaint accuses the men of two counts: conspiracy to launder monetary instruments and distribution and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. These three defendants also face charges in Germany.

The signs of the black market foreclosure first appeared on Thursday when the WSM site was replaced by a banner indicating that it had been seized by the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA).

The input message that replaced the home page of Wall Street Market on May 2.

Writing for the Zero Day blog from ZDNet, Catalin Cimpanu noted that "in this context, one of the moderators of the site, named Med3l1n– started to blackmail WSM sellers and buyers, asking for 0.05 Bitcoin (~ $ 280), and threatening disclose to the police the details of WSM sellers and buyers who have made the mistake of sharing various details in support requests in unencrypted form.

In a direct message sent to my Twitter account this morning a Twitter user named @FerucciFrances who claimed to be part of the exit scam asked for 0.05 bitcoin (about $ 286) to keep silent about a transaction or transactions purportedly made in my name on the Invisible Web Market.

"Make it public and things will get worse," warned the message. "The investigations go further once the entire site has been explored and registered and if you pay, include the order identifier on the dispute message so that you can be deleted. You know what I'm talking about krebs. "

A direct message from someone who is trying to extort money from me.

I had at least one user account on WSM, although I do not remember having ever communicated on the forum with other users, and I certainly never bought or sold anything there. Like most other accounts on dark online shops and forums, it was created solely for hiding. I asked @FerucciFrances to provide more evidence of my alleged fault, but he has not yet responded.

The Ministry of Justice has declared that the nickname MED3LIN belonged to a fourth defendant linked to the Wall Street market – Marcos Paulo De Oliveira-AnnibaleThe 29-year-old from São Paulo, Brazil, was charged on Thursday in a criminal suit filed in US District Court in Sacramento, California.

Oliviera-Annibale also faces federal charges of drug distribution and money laundering for allegedly moderating WSM, which, according to the accusations, settled disputes between sellers and customers and acted as a public relations representative for WSM by promoting sites.

Prosecutors claim to have connected MED3LIN to his offline identity with the help of pictures and other clues that he left online several years ago, again suggesting that many suspected cyber criminals are not very good at exchanging images online and offline.

"We are looking for the slightest way to identify criminals on the black canvas," he said. McGregor W. Scott, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of California. "The accusation against these accused shows that the slightest mistake will allow us to determine the true identity of a cybercriminal. As with defendant Marcos Annibale, posts on the forum and pictures of him online from a few years ago allowed us to connect the points that separated him from his character online, "Med3l1n". Wherever they live, we will investigate and prosecute criminals who create, maintain and promote dark markets to sell illegal drugs and other contraband. "

A copy of the criminal complaint filed by the Department of Justice in this case is available here (PDF).

Keywords: @ferucciences, Dark Web, Scott McGregor, MED3LIN, Wall Street Market