Dark Web 'Fraud for Hire' Commercial Uncovered: Billion Dollar Industry Sells AI Tools to Criminals

The Federalist Papers ^ | 9.5.23 | Elizabeth Allen

[Boomer]

A recently discovered video has exposed a vast, transnational criminal organization that has been siphoning funds from the U.S. government since the outset of the pandemic.

Furthermore, this syndicate has been profiting by trading advanced generative artificial intelligence tools with other criminals.

The video, designed for the dark web, is a scant 58 seconds. It features an individual identifying himself as “Sanchez”, dressed entirely in black, and masked with a black skeleton facepiece.

Another person appears to be digging in the background. “Yes, I sell Chase bank accounts. Yes, I am one of the first people to sell fake bank accounts four years ago,” declares “Sanchez”. “We started with my partner four years ago. Now we are about 30 people in one office.”

[Boomer]

The dark web is now home to a burgeoning fraud-as-a-service industry, operated by international cyber gangs spread across continents, from Russia to China. The group featured in the video goes by “Mega Darknet Market” and, according to Talcove, is among the largest of such operations globally.

The video is instrumental in understanding the sale of “mule accounts” — bank accounts opened using stolen identities — and also the trafficking of generative AI and “deepfake” tools among criminals.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

"...a vast, transnational criminal organization that has been siphoning funds from the U.S. government since the outset of the pandemic."

It took me some time digging though the bowels of the internet, but I finally found a photo of the head of that Crime Syndicate. He may look innocent, but don't let those looks deceive you.

[Boomer]

I don't think most people understand the tsunami of problems AI is going to cause.

[GailA]

btt