The closures are unlikely to mark the end of darknet markets, as new ones will undoubtedly emerge.
Administrators at darknet’s largest illegal, stolen credit card marketplace are retiring after earning an estimated $ 358 million (£ 260 million). The anonymous owners of UniCC thanked the criminal community for the deal, citing their age and state of health as the reason for the closure. Several other illegal darknet marketplaces also closed voluntarily during the winter for reasons unknown. Police say the trend leaves mixed feelings in them. Darknet is a part of the Internet that can only be accessed with special browser software. Cryptographic money experts at analyst firm Elliptic have tracked hundreds of millions of dollars in cryptocurrencies to UniCC. UniCC has also posted on Russian and English language darknet forums that “our team is retiring.” Anonymous criminals added, “We are no longer young and our health does not allow us to continue to work like this.” UniCC has had tens of thousands of new stolen credit cards active in the market for sale every day since 2013 – reported to the BBC . Hundreds of millions of payment card data were stolen from online retailers, banks and payment companies before being sold in online marketplaces like UniCC. These stolen cards represent value because they can be used to buy high-value products or gift cards that can then be resold for cash. According to Elliptic researchers, a total of $ 358 million in cryptocurrencies has been received in the form of Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ether and Dash since the website was launched. The closure of UniCC comes just a year after the retirement of former market leader Joker’s Stash. It is also the latest in a growing list of criminal marketplaces that have voluntarily withdrawn in the last six months. The White House Market announced its closure in October 2021, the largest darknet market of its kind. This was followed by the Cannaz in November and then by Torrez at Christmas. When Torrez closed in December, it was one of the largest English-language markets in the world, selling drugs, hacking tools, counterfeit cash and criminal services. According to a letter published on the website, “it was a great pleasure to work with most sellers and users” . When darknet sites cease to exist, operators disappear with the money of buyers or sellers. This is called exit fraud. They may also be broken or the police will cover them up and take them offline. The new trend of orderly elimination of marketplaces is called “sunsetting” or “voluntary withdrawal” . “Right now, it seems to be happening more and more often. The markets are getting out with dignity and saying, ‘We’ve made enough money and before we fall, we’ll just retire and go to sunset,'” says Professor David Décary-Hétu, a criminologist at the University of Montreal. He says administrators running large marketplaces like Torrez can earn up to $ 100,000 a day in commissions. For the police, who prefer criminals to be brought to justice, this kind of exit is mixed . “I’m always happy for anyone who might realize they’re pursuing an occupation that has been criminalized and decides not to increase it further. To regret something, it’s that we haven’t been able to hold them accountable so far, but they need to understand that they still they will be held accountable, “said Alex Hudson, head of the British National Law Enforcement Agency’s darknet intelligence. Closures are unlikely to mark the end of darknet markets, as new ones will undoubtedly emerge. A new BBC study commissioned by Radio 4’s File on Four found that at least 450 darknet sellers today had survived previous police closures over the past decade. Hardware, software, tests, curiosities and colorful news from the world of IT by clicking here
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