Ransomware purveyor playbook borrowed from darknet drug bazaar Incognito Market began extorting all vendors and buyers by threatening to release crypto transaction and chat records of users who refused to pay fees ranging from $100 to $20,000. This daring mass extortion attempt comes just days after Secret Market administrators reportedly conducted an “exit scam” that prevented users from withdrawing millions of dollars worth of funds from the platform.
The extortion message currently on the Secret Market home page.
Within the past 24 hours, Seekhneet Market's homepage has been updated with a threatening message from the owner that he will soon release purchasing records for vendors who refuse to pay to keep the records confidential.
“We have a little sneaky surprise for you all at the end,” reads a message to Secret Market users. “Over the years, we have amassed a list of private messages, transaction information, and order details. You would be surprised at how many people take advantage of our 'auto-encrypt' feature. By the way, your message and transaction ID were never actually deleted after the “expiration date”… Surprise, surprise!!! Anyway, I don't think anyone would have made a mistake if something had leaked to law enforcement. ”
Incognito Market said it plans to release the entire dump of 557,000 orders and 862,000 crypto transaction IDs at the end of May.
“Whether or not you and your customers' information appears on that list is entirely up to you,” the Secrets administrator advised. “Yes, this is blackmail!!!!”
The extortion message includes a “payment status” page that lists the darknet market's top vendors by handle, with the top line saying, “See below to see which vendors value their customers.” it is written like this. Green names likely correspond to users who have already chosen to pay.
“Payment status” page set up by secret market extortionists.
At the end of May, we plan to publish the entire dump of 557,000 orders and 862,000 cryptocurrency transaction IDs, but whether your information and your customers' information will be on that list is entirely up to you. It's up to you. And yes, this is blackmail!!!!
Incognito Markets said it plans to open a “whitelist portal” “in the coming weeks” that will allow buyers to delete transaction records.
The large-scale extortion of Secret Market users comes days after numerous users reported being unable to withdraw funds from their buyer or seller accounts.Publications focused on cryptocurrencies Cointelegraph.com reported on March 6 that Incognito was defrauding users of their Bitcoin and Monero deposits through an exit scam.
CoinTelegraph points out that Incognito Market administrators initially lied about the situation, blaming recent changes to Incognito's withdrawal system for users having difficulty withdrawing their funds.
Since Incognito Market primarily deals in drugs, many users are currently worried about being identified as drug dealers. When you create a new account on Incognito Market, you'll see an ad offering 5 grams of heroin for $450.
New Secret Market users are shown ads for $450 worth of heroin.
The double whammy currently hitting Secret Market users is similar to the double extortion techniques employed by many modern ransomware groups. Victim organizations are hacked, sensitive information is released, and two separate ransom demands are then presented. One is in exchange for the required digital key. One is to unlock the infected system, and the other is to secure a promise that the stolen data will not be published or sold and will be destroyed.
Incognito Market sets extortion prices for vendors based on their status or “level” within the market. Level 1 vendors can reportedly have their information removed by paying a $100 fee. However, large “Level 5” vendors will be required to pay $20,000.
He said there have been numerous examples of similar darknet market exit scams in the past, and that this tends to happen eventually with all darknet markets that are not seized and shut down by federal investigators. . Brett Johnsona convicted and rehabilitated cybercriminal who founded the organized cybercrime community Shadowcrew many years ago.
“Shadowcrew pioneered today's darknet markets and laid the foundation for how modern cybercrime channels still operate today,” Johnson said. “The truth about darknet markets? They are all exit scams. The only question is whether law enforcement can shut down the markets and arrest the operators before an exit scam occurs.”
