FBI Takes Action Against Dark Web Marketplace Managed by Russian and Kazakh Citizens
Two individuals have been charged in the U.S. for their alleged association with overseeing a dark web marketplace called WWH Club that focuses on trading sensitive personal and financial data.
Alex Khodyrev, a 35-year-old citizen of Kazakhstan, and Pavel Kublitskii, a 37-year-old citizen of Russia, are facing allegations of participating in a conspiracy to engage in access device fraud and wire fraud.
During the period of 2014 to 2024, Khodyrev and Kublitskii served as the key administrators of WWH Club (wwh-club[.]ws) and several related websites – wwh-club[.]net, center-club[.]pw, opencard[.]pw, skynetzone[.]org – which acted as dark web platforms, forums, and educational hubs to facilitate cybercrime.
The indictment is the outcome of an inquiry initiated by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in July 2020 after discovering that WWH Club’s main domain (www-club[.]ws] was linked to an IP address registered to DigitalOcean, leading to the issuance of a federal search warrant to the hosting company.
“WWH Club and associated site users leveraged these platforms to buy and sell stolen personal information, credit card data, bank account details, and computer passwords, among other confidential data,” as per the statement by the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) pointed out.
On the contrary, the forums served as a hub for conversations on optimal techniques for engaging in fraud, launching cyber assaults, and avoiding legal authorities.
In addition, the dark web marketplace provided online training for individuals aspiring to commit cyber crimes. The advertised cost for the training program ranged from 10,000 to 60,000 rubles (approximately $110 to $664 as of September 7, 2024) and an extra $200 for educational materials.
Legal records indicate that undercover FBI agents signed up on the website and participated in a training program by paying around $1,000 in bitcoin, covering subjects such as trading sensitive information, DDoS attacks, hacking tools, credit card skimming, and brute-force programs.
“The training was conducted via a chat feature on the forum for a class of nearly 50 students; the instructors delivered lessons in written form rather than verbal lectures,” stated the criminal complaint. “The instructional goal was evidently to educate individuals on obtaining and utilizing stolen credit card details and personal identifying information to generate illegal profits.”
Reports estimate that WWH Club had a global user base of 353,000 as of March 2023, up from 170,000 registered users in July 2020. Both Khodyrev and Kublitskii are suspected to have benefited from membership fees, tuition charges, and ad revenues.
Flashpoint, in a recent publication, revealed that WWH-Club continues its operations despite the law enforcement crackdown and that “other managers are working to distance themselves from Kublitskii and Khodyrev.”
Khodyrev and Kublitskii “had been residing in Miami over the past two years, while covertly managing WWH Club and its related dark web marketplaces, forums, and educational platforms,” stated the DoJ.
If found guilty on all charges, they could each potentially be sentenced to up to two decades in a federal penitentiary. The indictment also demands Khodyrev to surrender his 2023 Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG SUV and Kublitskii’s 2020 Cadillac CT5 Sport sedan, which are believed to have been procured using profits from their illicit activities.
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