The FBI has successfully dismantled a dark web marketplace known as WWH Club, managed by Russian and Kazakh nationals. The platform specialized in selling sensitive personal and financial information, and its administrators have been charged with multiple counts of fraud.
Key Takeaways
Indictment: Two men, Alex Khodyrev and Pavel Kublitskii, have been indicted for their roles in managing WWH Club.
Charges: They face charges of conspiracy to commit access device fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Duration: The illegal activities spanned from 2014 to 2024.
Investigation: The FBI launched an investigation in July 2020, leading to the indictment.
User Base: WWH Club had 353,000 users worldwide as of March 2023.
Potential Sentence: If convicted, both men could face up to 20 years in federal prison.
The Indictment
Alex Khodyrev, a 35-year-old Kazakhstan national, and Pavel Kublitskii, a 37-year-old Russian national, have been charged with conspiracy to commit access device fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The indictment follows an investigation by the FBI that began in July 2020. The FBI discovered that WWH Club's primary domain resolved to an IP address belonging to DigitalOcean, allowing them to issue a federal search warrant.
The Dark Web Marketplace
WWH Club and its sister sites—wwh-club[.]net, center-club[.]pw, opencard[.]pw, skynetzone[.]org—functioned as dark web marketplaces, forums, and training centers for cybercrime. The platforms were used to buy and sell stolen personal identifying information (PII), credit card and bank account information, and computer passwords.
Training Courses for Cybercriminals
The marketplace also offered online courses for aspiring and active cybercriminals. The cost of these courses ranged from 10,000 rubles to 60,000 rubles (about $110 to $664 as of September 7, 2024), with an additional $200 for training materials. Undercover FBI agents attended a training course by paying approximately $1,000 in bitcoin. The training covered topics such as the sale of sensitive information, DDoS and hacking services, credit card skimmers, and brute-force programs.
User Base and Revenue
WWH Club had 353,000 users worldwide as of March 2023, up from 170,000 registered users in July 2020. Khodyrev and Kublitskii are believed to have profited from membership fees, tuition fees, and advertising revenue. Despite the law enforcement effort, WWH Club remains operational, with other administrators attempting to distance themselves from Khodyrev and Kublitskii.
Arrest and Potential Sentence
Khodyrev and Kublitskii had been living in Miami for the past two years while secretly continuing to administer WWH Club. If convicted on all counts, they could each face up to 20 years in federal prison. The indictment also requires Khodyrev to forfeit his 2023 Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG and Kublitskii's 2020 Cadillac CT5 Sport sedan, which were purchased using proceeds from their criminal enterprise.
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Sources
FBI Cracks Down on Dark Web Marketplace Managed by Russian and Kazakh Nationals, The Hacker News.