news.bitcoin.com
Numerous accounts have recently revealed that shortly after the darknet market (DNM) Incognito apparently conducted an ‘exit scam,’ its operators have now informed their clients and merchants they are facing extortion. The team behind Incognito claims possession of crypto asset transaction logs and archived conversations from its users, warning that this information will be leaked to law enforcement unless a payment is made.
Incognito Market Turns to Extortion, Threatening to Leak User Data Post-Exit Scam
Just last week, various sources reported that Incognito executed an exit scam, allegedly absconding with vast sums of bitcoin (BTC) and monero (XMR). Since the early days of DNMs, following the precedent set by the original Silk Road, exit scams have been a persistent issue.
Extortion is the new exit scam. The #1 darknet drug market took all of its users’ money days ago. Now its admin Pharoah is demanding that each seller pay a ransom or he will turn their data over to the police.
We’ll see how this plays out for him. pic.twitter.com/dJ28YqmypL
— dark.fail (@DarkDotFail) March 11, 2024
The exit scam typically involves a DNM ceasing operations and absconding with the funds held in escrow. Yet, in a twist of events, Incognito’s administrators have shifted to coercing money from the users and vendors who utilized the platform.
“Expecting to hear the last of us yet?” the message from Pharoah, an Incognito Market admin details. “We got one final little nasty suprise for y’all. We have accumulated a list of private messages, transaction info and order details over the years.”
The Incognito Market admin added:
You’ll be surprised at the number of people that relied on our ‘auto-encrypt’ functionality. And by the way, your messages and transaction IDS were never actually deleted after the ‘expiry.’
The operator of Incognito disclosed that the information at risk of being exposed to law enforcement encompasses a comprehensive dump of 557,000 orders and 862,000 cryptocurrency transaction IDs. The extortion note ominously states, “Whether or not you and your customers’ info is on that list is totally up to you.”
Reportedly, a whitelist portal will be established for purchasers, offering them an opportunity to erase their records. In a twist of irony, the administrator expresses gratitude towards the customers and vendors for “doing business with Incognito Market.”
What do you think about the Incognito Market admins threatening to leak user and vendor data? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.