The homepage of Incognito Market was recently updated with a blackmail message from its owners, warning users that purchase records of vendors who refuse to pay will soon be made public. The message boasts of having amassed years' worth of private messages, transaction information, and order details, which were supposedly never deleted as users were led to believe. The administrators plan to release a dump of 557,000 orders and 862,000 cryptocurrency transaction IDs by the end of May
To add pressure, a "Payment Status" page has been set up listing the top vendors who have paid to keep their information confidential, suggesting that those who haven't paid do not care about their customers' privacy. Incognito Market also intends to launch a "whitelist portal" allowing buyers to remove their transaction records in the coming weeks.
The situation has escalated after reports emerged that numerous users were unable to withdraw funds from their accounts. Incognito Market, known for its trade in narcotics, is now facing a crisis as users fear being exposed as drug dealers. This development mirrors the tactics of ransomware groups, which often employ double extortion techniques to pressure victims into paying.
The extortion fees vary depending on the vendor's level within the marketplace, with Level 1 vendors facing a $100 fee and Level 5 vendors being asked to pay $20,000. Brett Johnson, a former cybercriminal, highlights the inevitability of exit scams in the darknet market scene, emphasizing that law enforcement intervention is often the only obstacle preventing such schemes.
