IRS Cybercrime Agent Lurks Dark Web Subreddit Looking For Hackers

https://web.archive.org/web/20171017213726/https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/wjxwvm/irs-cybercrime-agent-lurks-dark-web-subreddit-looking-for-hackers

For years, buyers and sellers of illicit goods on the dark web have often turned to Reddit to discuss the latest developments in the internet's underground. It's only natural, then, that internet cops would follow the criminals.

On Tuesday, a hacker that goes by the name InsanityDRM posted on the subreddit dedicated to the Tor hidden service marketplace Trade Route to announce that he had obtained the personal information of a rival hacker named PhishKingz, a practice known as doxing. Shortly after that, an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) cybercrime agent contacted him in private inquiring about the dox, according to a screenshot obtained by Motherboard.

Earlier this year, Motherboard revealed that the IRS paid a cybersecurity firm to scour the dark web. Now, it seems IRS's own agents are doing the scouring. In this case, he identified himself on Reddit as an IRS special agent. The Reddit username associated with the agent does not have any public posts on Reddit but uses the website's messaging system.

Reached via email, the agent, who has investigated crimes on the dark web and involving cryptocurrency, declined to comment, and requested that Motherboard not reveal his identity. Motherboard independently confirmed that the Reddit account and email address in the screenshot belong to the agent. An IRS spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The IRS has been investigating dark web crimes for a while. Earlier this year the agency investigated the case of a man that was arrested and sentenced for advertising money laundering services on an Onion site, as well as the case of a man who conspired to sell heroin on the marketplace AlphaBay, which shut down last summer.


Comments


[21 Points] murderhomelesspeople:

Good to keep in mind before you start posting TX hashes or wallet addresses. They're most likely looking for big fish but regardless, buyer beware.


[14 Points] dnmthrowawayobvious:

Nothing new, cant believe they are going public with this shit though... After Evo they subpoenaed all the users they thought had the dox. Everyone here is a bullshitting, theres probably 1% of people who are actually legit when they say they have insider info.

Why would this agent message the dude, like wtf they get on jabber and hes like "Hi im from this IRS i see you have a dox please hand it over". Like why wouldnt they go to straight to reddit and try to pull his info? Either way

FUCK THE POLICE

EDIT: and their conversation seems so casual like if someone messaged me saying they were a special agent i would either ignore them or tell to fuck off but this dude is like " yea no problem hmu on jabber bro"


[6 Points] 63-6F-6F-6B-69-65-3F:

If a movie came out last year with the exact plot of just what's happened in the last 2 months we would have laughed our asses off thinking it was, even for our community, unrealistic...

It goes to show that just when you think this sub couldn't possibly get any more juicy, couldn't conceivably produce more drama and plot twists, it just continues to amaze.


[6 Points] boomybox:

Good I hope they arrest PhishKingz, he keeps ruining all the good markets


[4 Points] ForLol_Serious:

Great, so now we have to worry about the irs on this sub now too?


[2 Points] CloudDrop:

For years, buyers and sellers of illicit goods on the dark web have often turned to Reddit to discuss the latest developments in the internet's underground. It's only natural, then, that internet cops would follow the criminals.

MRW


[2 Points] 2happytimes2:

Sure, they could lurk on reddit, wouldn't it be easier to go to the biggest hacking conference in the word like, Defcon?

Obviously, the IRS agents are not the brightest bulbs in the world.


[1 Points] Blugputts:

Will the account be suspended for doxxing? A violation of reddits TOS.


[1 Points] None:

The irs mangles faces and assholes much better than meth.


[0 Points] kookieless:

Damn so he wasn't bluffing when said he contacted a journalist about PK's doxx.

He even got a more credible news outlet to post the story than PK. He should've tried for the least fake news of all Infowars


[0 Points] None:

Snitches get stitches. So who is he. Where he live?