But just as the operator of Incognito Market certainly collected skills, he also collected enemies. First of all, many of the listings were not pure or authentic in their contents – the platform therefore facilitated the spread of the deadly substance fentanyl, according to the DoJ. Lin allegedly used those funds to pay employees and for computer servers – as well as collecting millions of dollars in profit. The dark web site was formed in October 2020 and ran until March of this year, serving as a forum to buy and sell commodities including heroin, cocaine, LSD, MDMA, oxycodone, methamphetamines, ketamine, and alprazolam. Lin seems like a knowledgeable person in the field of security and cryptocurrency, as per social media accounts listed in the complaint against him. Those wishing to trade on Incognito Markets can register by paying a vendor fee of €650 (payable in XMR).
- It was during this time that Lin first encountered the world of cryptocurrencies, a discovery that would change the course of his life forever.
- Lin used to convert the funds from Bitcoin (BTC) to Monero (XMR) through a swapping service, enhancing their anonymity.
- The seizures, to which ICE Homeland Security Investigations significantly contributed, include more than $200 million in currency and digital assets, over two metric tons of drugs, comprised of 144 kilograms of fentanyl or fentanyl-laced narcotics, and over 180 firearms.
- By 2023, it had become one of the most popular darknet marketplaces, attracting thousands of users from around the world.
- The payments ranged from $100 to $20,000, depending on how many transactions each person had handled.
- In addition, the United States and international law enforcement partners made 270 arrests of dark web vendors, buyers, and administrators in Austria, Brazil, France, Germany, Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and the United States.
Role Of “Pharaoh”: The Dual Life Of Rui-Siang Lin
It marks the most significant JCODE operation to date, building on years of enforcement actions and marketplace takedowns, including Kingdom Market, Tor2Door, Bohemia, and Nemesis. On the other hand, based on his illicit background and willingness to make money, Riu-Siang Lin could have been a well-placed insider for Chinese intelligence in the Taiwanese embassy, and why not a first point of access in the Taiwanese MFA network for APT espionage operations. Even if one of his posts suggests an affinity with the current regime, HUMINT recruitment operations are only sometimes straightforward.
A 23-year-old man from Taiwan has been arrested on charges of selling at least $100 million worth of illegal drugs online through a site on the dark web known as the “Incognito Market.” One was used to host Incognito’s DDoS prevention system, one hosted the back-end marketplace data, including all completed narcotics transactions, while the third acted as the market’s bank and was used to process all cryptocurrency transactions. This illegal drug market was used to sell more than $100 million worth of narcotics, including over 1,000 kilograms (kgs) of illicit drugs, including 295 kgs of methamphetamines, 364 kgs of cocaine, 112 kgs of amphetamine, and 92 kgs of ecstasy (MDMA). Lin announced that Incognito Market would be shutting down, but not before attempting to extort the market’s users.
The agent had ordered what was supposed to be oxycodone, a prescription painkiller that is frequently sold on the dark web. However, when the drugs arrived and were sent to a lab for testing, it was revealed that the pills were not oxycodone at all—they were fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid that has been responsible for thousands of overdose deaths worldwide. This discovery gave law enforcement agencies the leverage they needed to intensify their efforts against Incognito. While Silk Road and Hydra had laid the groundwork for darknet markets, they were not without their flaws.
Unraveling The Seedy Underbelly Of The Darknet Marketplaces
It began by freezing their cryptocurrency funds, so they couldn’t withdraw their money. Then, the scammers threatened to share the private chat details that were supposed to be secret. Incognito Market, once one of the most secure and reliable platforms on the dark web, was no more. Other darknet markets quickly took notice, with many administrators shutting down their operations in fear of being the next target. Users, too, began to migrate to smaller, more obscure markets, hoping to avoid the attention of law enforcement.
DoJ Claims He Used Platform’s Last Days To Extort Its Users
Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Monero have revolutionized online transactions by offering anonymity and decentralization, making them the currencies of choice for darknet marketplaces like Incognito. In fact, cryptocurrency transactions leave behind a trail—a blockchain ledger that records every transaction ever made. Like legitimate ecommerce sites, each listing on Incognito was sold by a particular vendor. To become an Incognito vendor, each vendor was required to register with the site and pay an admission fee.
Security Incognito Marketplace
The operational security mistakes the FBI describes suggest that, regardless of which side of the cryptocurrency cat-and-mouse game Lin intended to end up on, he was far from a criminal mastermind. His brief, strange journey from alleged kingpin to crypto crime expert ultimately provides plenty of lessons to criminals and law enforcement alike—though probably not the ones he intended. According to the FBI, the market took nearly a year to catch on, with virtually no sales during that time.
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The market also used multiple wallets to manage its funds—hot wallets for active transactions and cold storage for the bulk of its assets. This strategy ensured that even if law enforcement compromised one wallet, the majority of the market’s funds remained secure. Finally, all communications on the platform were encrypted with PGP, adding yet another layer of security.
“As alleged, Rui-Siang Lin was the architect of Incognito, a $100 million dark web scheme to traffic deadly drugs to the United States and around the world,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. “The defendant’s greed and disregard for others was further demonstrated by his alleged extortion attempt during the platform’s final days.” The marketplace generated $83,624,577 in revenue throughout its operation, allegedly yielding Lin at least $4,181,228 from its 5% commission. “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 Incognito Market admin said. “….SURPRISE SURPRISE!!! Anyway, if anything were to leak to law enforcement, I guess nobody ever slipped up.” In an interview with BeInCrypto, Guillermo Fernandes, founder of blockchain analysis platform Blockpliance, shed light on the methodologies for tracing bad actors.
How To Access Incognito Market: A Step-by-Step Guide
Department of Justice announced the results of Operation RapTor—an unprecedented international crackdown on darknet narcotics trafficking. The exit scam contributed to a growing sense of distrust among users in the darknet ecosystem. As more users experienced losses, they became wary of engaging with other platforms, leading to a more cautious approach to online transactions. Following the collapse, users became more vigilant in their dealings on darknet marketplaces, leading to a greater emphasis on safety protocols and risk management. Incognito Market was a globally available online narcotics bazaar active through Tor web since October 2020, when it was created by Lin.
- HSI is a worldwide law enforcement leader in Darknet and other cyber-related criminal investigations.
- Lin’s GitHub account describes him as a “Backend and Blockchain Engineer, Monero Enthusiast.” This GitHub account has approximately 35 publicly available software coding projects.
- This strategy ensured that even if law enforcement compromised one wallet, the majority of the market’s funds remained secure.
- Had this been a one-off event, you might just call it a coincidence, but he repeated this cash-out severally to draw suspicion.
- Thank you for choosing Incognito Link as your marketplace for purchasing Darknet goods.
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This shows how vulnerable dark web users really are, even if they think they are safe. It’s a warning to anyone who believes their anonymity on such sites is foolproof, especially when the site operator can be the biggest threat. Building on the successes of prior years’ operations, Operation RapTOR furthered global efforts to dismantle darknet marketplaces, resulting in the seizure of darknet infrastructure from Nemesis, Tor2Door, Bohemia, and Kingdom Markets. These actions provided investigators across the globe with invaluable leads and evidence, strengthening the ongoing fight against cybercrime and illicit activities on the darknet.
But the agents assigned to the case were determined, and they began to devise a plan to bring down the empire that Lin had built. In addition to switching to Monero, Incognito Market employed a decentralized internal banking system. When users deposited Bitcoin into the market, it was immediately converted into Monero, leveraging the privacy features of Monero to ensure that even if the initial Bitcoin transaction could be traced, the trail would go cold once the funds were inside the market’s banking system.
Upon further testing, the substance turned out to be fentanyl, a highly lethal synthetic opioid. Drug Enforcement Administration, a mere two milligrams of the substance can be fatal. Law enforcers’ investigation into Incognito Market operations and Lin’s subsequent arrest involved a combination of sophisticated techniques and international cooperation. In May 2024, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the arrest of alleged Incognito Market mastermind Rui-Siang Lin.
