Cybercrime , Fraud Management & Cybercrime , Government

German Police Shut Underground Crimemarket Forum

3 Arrested and Domain Shuttered in the Investigation by Düsseldorf Police Akshaya Asokan (asokan_akshaya) • March 4, 2024

German police said they arrested operators behind one of the largest cybercrime underground marketplaces in the country and seized its domains as part of a two-year-long investigation into the group.

Authorities from Düsseldorf last week said they had dismantled the domain belonging to the Crimemarket forum, which sold cybercrime services, drugs and weapons. The platform, which could be accessed by both dark web and clearnet users, had 180,000 registered users at the time of the disruption.

As part of the latest action, the authorities arrested three suspected operators of the platform, including a 23-year-old from the German town of Rhein-Kreis Neuss who is alleged to be the admin of the marketplace.

The investigation into the group, which began in 2020, also resulted in authorities confiscating 600,000 euros in cash from the suspects. German police also seized numerous mobile phones, IT equipment and data storage systems.

Authorities said they are currently evaluating the intercepted data to learn more details about the platform users.

The arrest and dismantling of Crimemarket is the latest in a series of actions taken by international law enforcement agencies against cybercriminals. It comes just weeks after a joint action led by the British and American cyber agencies dismantled and seized the LockBit ransomware cybercrime ecosystem.

In December, German police dismantled Kingdom Market, which sold drugs, malicious software and other criminal services.