Esme brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our website, specializing in all aspects of DarkWeb security. With a deep understanding of the intricate workings of the DarkWeb and its associated cybersecurity risks, Esme curates insightful and informative content for our readers.
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Vitaliy Chichasov, a Ukrainian living in the United States, admitted to conspiring to conduct fraud by employing access devices and to deal in unlawful access devices on a particular restricted platform.
Chichasov oversaw the SSNDOB Marketplace, a network of websites where Americans’ complete names, birthdates, and social security numbers, among other personally identifiable information, were for sale. The domain names for the marketplace were taken on June 7, 2022, as a consequence of a police operation.
SSNDOB earned more than $19 million in revenue through the selling of 24 million people’s data during the course of its operations. According to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), “Stolen social security numbers can be used to commit various types of fraud, including tax fraud, unemployment benefit fraud, credit fraud, credit card fraud, etc.”
Chichasov was detained in March 2022 as he attempted to enter Hungary, and in July of the same year, he was extradited to the US. He entered a guilty plea and consented to hand over the malicious domains “blackjob.biz,” “ssndob.club,” and “ssndob.vip.” Sergei Pugach, the second administrator of the SSNDOB, was also detained in May 2022.
Due to a joint investigation by the FBI, the IRS, the US Department of Justice, and the governments of Cyprus and Latvia, US officials were able to identify two administrators.
According to court records, the admins promoted SSNDOB by posting advertisements they had developed on different dark web websites (including hacker forums and other hidden marketplaces).
The site’s operators only accepted payment in anonymous cryptocurrency, and they deliberately put the site’s servers across the world to avoid the authorities from identifying themselves. Chichasov now faces a possible punishment of 15 years in jail as well as the seizure of $5 million in cash, which early information indicates is illicit profits.