When there is a data breach, this information is often sold on the dark web to prevent the fraud from being tracked. However, there are some instances where website owners take a risk and do this on “regular” websites. One of them was recently shut down by the US Department of Justice (DOJ). This is RaidForums, which served as a marketplace for several sets of data, including the mega leak of 223 million CPFs. Learn more about the case in this article.
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Understand the case of a site that sold information on thousands of individuals
According to US authorities, RaidForums was known as one of the largest hacker forums today. It is no exaggeration to say that the data exchanged there originates from almost every continent, which is why the operation included Europol and authorities from countries such as Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
Because it was a “normal” website, if you try to access it now, you will see an alert that says “this domain has been seized” right at the beginning. However, the closure of the site was not the only effect of the action. The alleged creator and administrator of RaidForums, Diogo Santos Coelho, 21, was arrested in the UK on January 31 at the request of US authorities.
Coelho will be held until his extradition process to the United States is completed. There are at least six counts against him, including identity theft and fraud on an access device. Two other people were also arrested on suspicion of working with the site, and that number could still grow.
How did the website work?
RaidForums was founded in 2015, while Coelho was a 14-year-old teenager. Although the site was initially used to organize break-ins, its primary purpose has become an online marketplace for selling leaked information. Hundreds of different databases were exposed on the site during the time it was up and running.
According to investigations, Coelho started using the forum to sell data through an account called Omnipotent, citing a offer it made in December 2018 involving 2.3 million personal records allegedly stolen from hotels across the United States United.