Wanted: Russian Money Launderers Who Sold Stolen Credit Cards on the Dark Web
A U.S. Secret Service poster announces a reward for information leading to the arrest of Timur Shakhmametov. See the full poster below.
Russian nationals Sergey Ivanov, a.k.a. “Taleon,” and Timur Shakhmametov, a.k.a. “JokerStash” or “Vega,” were charged with aiding and abetting bank fraud, conspiracy and money laundering, according to a DOJ press release. The charges concern their work to launder the proceeds of a few carding websites, including “Joker’s Stash” and “Rescator.”
Carding is a type of cyber fraud crime where hackers steal someone’s credit card data via either “skimming” or data breaches to sell the information to bad actors on the dark web. Skimming occurs when criminals place devices at cash registers to steal credit card data.
‘Joker’s Stash’
From around October 2013, Shakhmametov allegedly created “Joker’s Stash,” a website used to sell stolen credit card data obtained through carding, according to the indictment. Joker’s Stash became one of the largest carding markets in history, offering around 40 million payment cards for sale annually. Prosecutors estimate the profits from the website to range between $280 million and over $1 billion.
Ivanov allegedly created and operated three payment services to complete money transfers for the buying of the carded information bought from Joker’s Stash, according to the indictment.
‘Rescator’
Ivanov also allegedly operated a carding website, “Rescator,” which sold information stolen from individuals and financial institutions, according to prosecutors.
Rescator is credited with stealing data from 40 million payment cards and the personal information of around 70 million people from a single U.S.-based retailer in 2013, costing the retailer upwards of $202 million, according to the indictment. The incident also caused damage to consumers via cyber fraud and identity theft.
Reward for Information on Ivanov and Shakhmametov
If you have any information on these cyber-fraudsters, listen up because it could make you rich.
The State Department is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information that leads to the arrest or conviction of Ivanov and Shakhmametov. They are also offering $1 million for information revealing the identities of the other leaders of Joker’s Stash or any of the money transfer and payment service entities.
Financial Sanctions
In a coordinated effort, the Treasury Department sanctioned Ivanov and his virtual money transfer companies, they announced in another press release. The companies sanctioned are PM2BTC, UAPS, and Cryptex. The Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has identified PM2BTC as the primary concern of the companies Ivanov allegedly used to launder the money from the carding websites.
PM2BTC is also credited for being involved in ransomware attacks, which are when hackers infect computers or phones, as well as other devices, with malware that locks access to the computer or files stored in it, then charges a price to regain access.
If you are the victim of a cybercrime, The Internet Crime Complaint Center urges you to report it as soon as possible. Any information provided helps the FBI in ongoing investigations against hackers.
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