DeepDotWeb

DeepDotWeb was a news site dedicated to events in and surrounding the dark web featuring interviews^[1][2] and reviews about darknet markets,^[3][4][5] Tor hidden services, privacy, bitcoin, and related news. The website was seized on May 7, 2019, during an investigation into the owners' affiliate marketing model, in which they received money for posting links to certain darknet markets,^[6] and for which they were charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering. In March 2021 site administrator Tal Prihar pleaded guilty to his charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

DeepDotWeb

Type of site	Technology news and information
Available in	English
Owner	Tal Prihar, Michael Phan
Launched	October 2013
Current status	Seized on May 7, 2019; 5 years ago (2019-05-07)

Coverage has included darknet market drug busts,^[7][8] pedophile crowdfunding,^[9][10] the details of hacking of darknet markets,^[11][12] as well as the diversification of markets such as TheRealDeal selling software exploits.^[1][2]

Site features included blacklisted markets,^[13] comparisons, and reviews.

In May 2015, McAfee covered a free ransomware-as-a-service called 'Tox' hosted somewhere on the dark web^[14] whose developers gave an interview to DeepDotWeb.^[15]

Domain seizure

Lock screen when opening the page

On May 7, 2019, the deepdotweb.com and its sister .onion domain were redirected to a Domain Seizure notice. The notice was presented by the FBI and prominently displayed the logos of EUROPOL and numerous affiliate law enforcement agencies, including the British National Crime Agency and the German Bundeskriminalamt. The Israeli police alleged that the owners of DeepDotWeb had been receiving Bitcoin in exchange for links to black market sites on the deep web.^[6]

Criminal charges

In May 2019 site owners, Tal Prihar and Michael Phan were indicted in United States court, each on one charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering. According to the United States Department of Justice, DeepDotWeb received about $8.4 million in kickbacks from purchases of fentanyl, firearms, hacking tools, and other contraband on Darknet marketplaces, and transferred this to personal wallets using shell companies. According to the Department of Justice, while DeepDotWeb was in operation a total of 23.6 percent of all orders completed on AlphaBay involved DeepDotWeb.^{[16][17][18][19][20][21]}

An infographic of how DeepDotWeb conducted its affiliate marketing operation by referring users to darknet marketplaces according to the United States Department of Justice

In March 2021 site administrator Tal Prihar pleaded guilty to his charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering.^[22]

In January 2022, site administrator Tal Prihar was sentenced to 97 months in prison for money laundering. He was ordered to forfeit more than $8.4 million.^[23]

See also

• Dread, a dark web discussion forum

References

1. Greenberg, Andy (17 April 2015). "New Dark-Web Market Is Selling Zero-Day Exploits to Hackers". Wired. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
2. "Not Only Drugs: New Market Focuses On Code, 0Days & Exploits". DeepDotWeb. 8 April 2015. Archived from the original on 20 April 2015.
3. "Utopia Marketplace is now Officially Open!". DeepDotWeb. 3 February 2014. Archived from the original on 18 April 2015.
4. Faife, Corin (January 27, 2022). "DeepDotWeb operator sentenced to eight years for money laundering". The Verge. Archived from the original on January 27, 2022. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
5. "Utopia drugs market forced off Tor by Dutch police". BBC News. 12 February 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
6. Kan, Michael (7 May 2019). "Feds Seize DeepDotWeb for Taking Money From Black Market Sites". PC Magazine. Archived from the original on 7 May 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
7. Price, Rob (13 Mar 2015). "Crazy photos of the drugs seized in the largest ever Deep Web drugs bust". Business Insider. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
8. @DeepDotWeb (March 12, 2015). "The Biggest DarkNet Drug related seizure Ever: ~ Vendor "Shiny Flakes" Bust" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
9. Cook, James (14 November 2014). "Paedophiles Have Created A Deep Web Version Of Kickstarter To Crowdfund Child Porn". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 15 November 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
10. "While Markets Get Seized: Pedophiles Launch a Crowdfunding Site". DeepDotWeb. 9 November 2014. Archived from the original on 25 January 2018.
11. Love, Dylan (13 February 2014). "Major Online Marketplace Silk Road Hacked — Someone Stole All Its Bitcoins". Business Insider. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
12. "Silk Road 2 Hacked, All Bitcoins Stolen – $2.7 Miliion". DeepDotWeb. Archived from the original on 13 February 2014.
13. Swearingen, Jake (2 October 2014). "A Year After Death of Silk Road, Darknet Markets Are Booming". Retrieved 24 May 2015.
14. Walter, Jim (23 May 2015). "Meet 'Tox': Ransomware for the Rest of Us". Archived from the original on 6 June 2015. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
15. "New DeepWeb Site Offers Free Ransomware Creation". DeepDotWeb. 27 May 2015. Archived from the original on 11 August 2015. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
16.  This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Department of Justice. "DeepDotWeb Administrator Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering Conspiracy". www.justice.gov. 2021-03-31. Retrieved 2021-03-31.
17. "Israeli administrator of DeepDotWeb site admits to laundering millions". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2021-03-31.
18. "ADMINISTRATORS OF DEEPDOTWEB INDICTED FOR MONEY LAUNDERING CONSPIRACY RELATING TO KICKBACKS FOR SALES OF FENTANYL, HEROIN, AND OTHER ILLEGAL GOODS ON THE DARKNET". www.justice.gov. 2019-05-08. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
19. "Justice Department charges Deep Dot Web administrators with money laundering". TechCrunch. 8 May 2019. Archived from the original on 20 May 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
20. "IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA United States of America v. Tal Prihar Michael Phan d/b/a DeepDotWeb, Defendants INDICTMENT COUNT ONE Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering". Archived from the original on 20 May 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
21. "Administrators of DeepDotWeb Indicted for Money Laundering Conspiracy, Relating to Kickbacks for Sales of Fentanyl, Heroin and Other Illegal Goods on the Darknet". www.justice.gov. 2019-05-08. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
22. "DeepDotWeb boss pleads guilty to laundering millions". CyberScoop. 2021-03-31. Retrieved 2021-03-31.
23. Faife, Corin (January 27, 2022). "DeepDotWeb operator sentenced to eight years for money laundering". The Verge. Archived from the original on January 27, 2022. Retrieved February 3, 2022.