Four Canadians have been fined a total of $300,000 by the CRTC's Chief Compliance and Enforcement Officer for their engagement in the Dark Web marketplace Canadian HeadQuarters (also known as CanadianHQ). Following the execution of warrants by CRTC employees, the marketplace was taken offline. 

CanadianHQ was one of the largest Dark Web marketplaces in the world before it was closed down, and it played a pivotal role in damaging cyber operations in Canada. It specializes in the selling of spamming services, phishing kits, stolen passwords, and accessibility to infected systems, which were utilized by buyers to carry out a variety of malicious activities. 

The CRTC's inquiry centered on four people who reportedly sent emails that looked like they came from well-known companies in order to gain personal information like credit card numbers and banking information. 

The following people have been fined for violating Canada's anti-spam legislation (CASL) by sending commercial electronic messages without consent: 

• $150,000 Chris Tyrone Dracos (a.k.a. Poseidon) 

• $50,000 Marc Anthony Younes (a.k.a. CASHOUT00 and Masteratm) 

• $50,000 - Souial Amarak (a.k.a. Wealtyman and Supreme) 

• $50,000 Moustapha Sabir (a.k.a. La3sa) 

Mr. Dracos faces a harsher sentence as the marketplace's inventor and administrator for allegedly assisting in the execution of multiple CASL violations by the platform's suppliers and customers. Several other suppliers have been uncovered as part of this investigation, and enforcement measures will be taken against them in the near future, as per the sources. The Spam Reporting Centre encourages Canadians to report spam, phishing, and other suspicious practices. 

Steven Harroun, Chief Compliance and Enforcement Officer, CRTC stated, “Some Canadians are being drawn into malicious cyber activity, lured by the potential for easy money and social recognition among their peers. This case shows that anonymity is not absolute online and there are real-world consequences when engaging in these activities. 

“Canadian Headquarters was one of the most complex cases our team has tackled since CASL came into force. I would like to thank the cyber-security firm Flare Systems, the Sûreté du Québec and the RCMP’s National Division for their invaluable assistance. Our team is committed to investigating CASL non-compliance on all fronts.”