Law enforcement in Germany has shut down the largest German-speaking cybercrime platform and arrested its operator, confiscating hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of cash and assets.
The platform — Crimemarket — had about 180,000 users and is believed to have raked in about $27 million in sales since its launch in 2018, local news outlets said.
“So we were not dealing with a small online retailer next door, but with the German-speaking Amazon [equivalent] for cybercrime,” Herbert Reul, the interior minister of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), said in a statement translated by Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) newspaper said on Friday.
As of writing, Crimemarket’s clearnet website is still up. Some news portals claim this is a law enforcement strategy to snare users who visit the portal.
Minors May Have Accessed Illegal Site
Crimemarket was accessible both on the clear and the dark web, Düsseldorf police said in a statement on Friday. The police have been investigating Crimemarket since 2020.
Cybercriminals could buy and sell various items and services on Crimemarket, including drugs, tools, and know-how for various illegal activities like creating fake IDs or launching a cyberattack. Crimemarket also aided money laundering and could be used to commission crimes in the physical world.
Since the site was available on the clear web, Düsseldorf’s police president Miriam Brauns noted that many minors may have used it, FAZ said.
German police simultaneously executed over 100 search warrants nationwide on Feb. 29 in a coordinated takedown. The local focus of these measures was in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
In a statement, NRW police said they seized nearly 600,000 euros (about $650,000) in cash and movable assets. The police also secured evidence, like drugs, mobile phones, IT devices, and data carriers.
A total of six people were arrested during the operation, including the 23-year-old main suspect at his residence in the Rhein-Kreis Neuss (Korschenbroich), the police said.
In addition to the key figures in the Crimemarket network, the police are also targeting service providers and users who visited the site.
How to Browse the Dark Web Safely?
The dark web contains several illegal dark web marketplaces. However, it is also a haven for journalists and activists seeking privacy or unrestricted access to information.
Curious about the dark web? Read our in-depth guide to learn how to access the dark safely.
Although the Tor browser is highly anonymous, we also recommend using a virtual private network (VPN) service, like NordVPN, to add an extra layer of security and anonymity before connecting to the dark web.
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