Russia shuts down darknet sites that had made $263 million in crypto

Four darknet “carding” websites that accepted crypto payments have reportedly been shut down by Russian officials. The affected platforms are Trump’s Dump, Sky-Fraud forum, UAS Store, and the notorious Ferum Shop.

Carding websites offer stolen credit cards for sale that can be used to purchase items such as luxury goods or premium gift cards, which can then be traded for cash usually via person-to-person transactions. These credit cards are stolen from compromised web-based banking platforms and online store platforms.

According to a report by Elliptic on Wednesday, the four dark web platforms had made more than $263 million in popular cryptocurrencies from selling these stolen credit cards. The report also stated that buyers mostly used bitcoin (BTC), litecoin (LTC), and ether (ETH) to pay for these cards.

Ferum Shop, one of the platforms seized by officials of Russia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, was the largest vendor for stolen credit cards. The platform reportedly amassed over $256 million from the sale of these stolen cards for crypto.

Carding websites are among a list of darknet marketplaces that utilize crypto for money laundering activities. This latest shutdown is indicative of the heat on Russia’s cybercrime world with numerous arrests announced in recent times.

In January, Russian authorities raided members of the notorious REvil ransomware gang and recovered about $5.5 million in cash and crypto.

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