While Monero obscures transaction details, Bitcoin’s traceable blockchain provided law enforcement with critical leads, particularly at the point of off-ramp—when vendors converted crypto into fiat or moved assets through centralized exchanges. According to the indictment, between 2022 and 2023, law enforcement agents executed search warrants to gain access to three servers used to operate the marketplace and containing marketplace data. One of the servers searched by the agents was the so-called “bank”, a database containing all cryptocurrency transactions. This allowed US law enforcement to trace cryptocurrency transfers to a digital wallet linked to Lin, leading to his identification and arrest.
Minutes later, roughly the same amount in Monero (XMR) was deposited in a crypto Exchange account registered to Rui-Siang Lin. Designed to manage seamless narcotics transactions across the web, Incognito Market ran in much the same way as a legitimate business, incorporating advertising, customer service and branding. Lin, a self-described crypto developer and fan of privacy coin Monero, said on X that he facilitated a four-day workshop on cyber crime and cryptocurrency for 30 police officers at the Saint Lucia Police Academy in early April. “As alleged, Rui-Siang Lin was the architect of Incognito, a $100 million dark web scheme to traffic deadly drugs to the United States and around the world,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. “The defendant’s greed and disregard for others was further demonstrated by his alleged extortion attempt during the platform’s final days.” The marketplace generated $83,624,577 in revenue throughout its operation, allegedly yielding Lin at least $4,181,228 from its 5% commission.
About Incognito Market – Incognito Darknet – Incognito Link
These slip-ups, combined with the forensic analysis of cryptocurrency transactions, allowed law enforcement to build a case against Rui-Siang Lin. At its peak, the marketplace was facilitating over $100 million worth of transactions annually, with Lin pocketing a significant percentage in fees. For many vendors, Incognito became the go-to platform for conducting business, as it offered a more secure and efficient environment than its competitors. It’s May 18, 2024, and federal agents are watching every move of a 23-year-old man named Rui-Siang Lin as he walks through John F. Kennedy International Airport.
He learned how these markets operated, studying their vulnerabilities and thinking about how he could improve upon them. By the time he graduated, Lin had a plan—a plan to create the most secure and successful darknet market the world had ever seen. The final evidence that law enforcement found linking Lin to the administrator “Pharoah” of Incognito Market was a “simple” hand-drawn workflow diagram of a darknet marketplace that was mailed from Lin’s personal email address. “For example, in November 2023, an undercover law enforcement agent received several tablets that purported to be oxycodone, which were purchased on Incognito Market. Testing on those tablets revealed that they were not authentic oxycodone at all and were, in fact, fentanyl pills,” the Justice Department said.
- After logging in with a unique username and password, users were able to search thousands of listings for narcotics of their choice.
- The U.S. law enforcement has arrested an alleged operator of “Incognito Market,” a major online dark web narcotics marketplace that facilitated more than $100 million in illegal narcotics sales globally.
- In an interesting post, he appeared to be proud of the newly elected president in Taiwan, suggesting that he likes the current regime, which is opposing China’s pressure.
- Incognito Market included “many features of legitimate e-commerce sites such as branding, advertising, and customer service,” the Justice Department said.
- “Lin collected millions of dollars of profits from Incognito. To facilitate these financial transactions, Incognito Market had its own ‘bank,’ which allowed its users to deposit cryptocurrency on the site into their own ‘bank accounts,'” explained the DoJ.
Crypto-crasher Do Kwon Admits Guilt Over Failed Not-so-stablecoin That Erased $41 Billion
Many vendors around the world partner with Incognito Darknet because the Incognito Darknet Store has some of the lowest fees on the market and a good reputation among vendors. Incognito Market is one of the first markets to put XMR to use on the scene, XMR is an encrypted crypto-currency with a private blockchain, it is not traceable and can be used by cyber criminals to hide their tracks. The arrest of the Incognito Market owner, Rui-Siang Lin serves as a reminder for everyone to access the web safely and responsibly. In November 2023, the feds finally obtained a judicially authorized search warrant on Lin’s personal email account. The findings were incredibly eye-opening, including a hand-drawn illustration of the marketplace and its configurations. Court documents show that on multiple occasions, Bitcoin from Incognito’s administrator wallet was sent to a swapping service.
How Incognito Market Maintained Anonymity
On the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, where he has been active since March 2022, most of Lin’s posts are about cryptocurrencies. He also posted about the training he did for the Saint Lucia Police, but this time, he covered his face with an emoji. In an interesting post, he appeared to be proud of the newly elected president in Taiwan, suggesting that he likes the current regime, which is opposing China’s pressure.
Charges And Potential Sentences
Our commitment is unwavering,” said Chief Postal Inspector Gary Barksdale, United States Postal Inspection Service. Vendors paid a non-refundable admission fee of $750 and a 5% commission on each sale to Incognito Market, according to the indictment. Incognito Market mimicked legitimate e-commerce sites with features like branding, advertising and customer service. Users could search listings for various narcotics after logging in with unique credentials.
“As alleged, Rui-Siang Lin’s brazen operation resulted in the illicit sale of over $100 million in narcotics, including those that were mislabeled and later found to include deadly fentanyl,” said Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Ivan J. Arvelo. In a recent turn of events, the Darknet Market (DNM), also known as Incognito, has transitioned from executing an exit scam, as reported last week, to resorting to extortion tactics. Allegedly, DNM absconded with significant amounts of bitcoin (BTC) and monero (XMR), following a pattern observed since the early days of DNMs, reminiscent of the infamous Silk Road.
Incognito Market: Trust Among Criminals?
Pharaoh asked vendors for payment by April 1, 2024 in exchange for not releasing information to law enforcement. While on April 1, 2024, Pharoah announced that the extortion announcement had been a joke, vendors on the platform had already looked for other options. This banking service obscured the locations and identities of vendors and customers from each other and from law enforcement. It kept the financial information of vendors and buyers separate, making it more difficult for any one actor on the marketplace to learn any other actor’s true identity, a complaint filed against Lin said. One particularly revealing moment came in February 2024, when Incognito users reported that BTC withdrawals were disabled—likely part of a deliberate “exit scam.” Lin, or others acting on his behalf, threatened to leak vendor identities to law enforcement unless paid.
- When Pharaoh attempted to extort his users, many panicked vendors likely reached out to trusted contacts or even law enforcement for help.
- However, depending on how much Riu-Sian Lin knows about other accounts that could expose the criminal’s identity, we will see in the next period of time in the other law enforcement takedown and arrest operations.
- In a recent turn of events, the Darknet Market (DNM), also known as Incognito, has transitioned from executing an exit scam, as reported last week, to resorting to extortion tactics.
- In its heyday, the platform raked in millions of dollars per month and incorporated many features of legitimate e-commerce sites such as branding and customer service.
Exit Scam & Extortion
Incognito Market, which was shut down in March, was an online dark web marketplace that allowed users to buy and sell illegal drugs anonymously, according to the Justice Department. The law enforcement officers found dozens of databases on these servers containing information on at least 1,312 vendor accounts, 255,519 customer accounts, and 224,791 transactions linked to market orders. As an innovative and bold venture in the darknet market, Incognito Market presents a vast array of products and services that challenge the boundaries of traditional internet marketplaces. Its intuitive interface fosters exploration, but it’s crucial for users to navigate with caution and remain ethically aware due to the inherent nature of darknet activities. Incognito is an inviting destination for those seeking a thrilling and dynamic journey into the depths of the digital underworld. Incognito Market has emerged as a significant player in the darknet marketplace, acclaimed for its clean and minimalist design that focuses on a smooth user experience.
The first charge – sometimes called the “kingpin statute” – carries a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison. Ross Ulbricht, the creator and operator of the now-shuttered Silk Road darknet drug marketplace, was found guilty of the same crime and sentenced to life in prison. The narcotics conspiracy charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum potential sentence of life in prison.
Europol will continue working with our partners to make the internet safer for everyone.” The operational security mistakes the FBI describes suggest that, regardless of which side of the cryptocurrency cat-and-mouse game Lin intended to end up on, he was far from a criminal mastermind. His brief, strange journey from alleged kingpin to crypto crime expert ultimately provides plenty of lessons to criminals and law enforcement alike—though probably not the ones he intended. According to the FBI, the market took nearly a year to catch on, with virtually no sales during that time.
Quick Links
Hundreds of pounds of cocaine, methamphetamines and other drugs were sold on Incognito Market since its launch in October 2020, it said. After witnessing the extortion made by Incognito, Ninja & Trojan decided to DDOS mirrors with over 2,000 cores per mirror. This resulted in all the mirrors to appear offline so that others wouldn’t fall for the extortion. At that moment, Pharoah tried to disconnect all their mirrors as their front servers couldn’t handle it. The DDOS has been heavily effective due to Pharoah prioritizing low-end specifications rather than 1 massive server per mirror, or high end bandwidth with internal port speed. The story of Rui-Siang Lin and Incognito Market is a cautionary tale for both cybercriminals and cybersecurity professionals.
This shows how vulnerable dark web users really are, even if they think they are safe. It’s a warning to anyone who believes their anonymity on such sites is foolproof, especially when the site operator can be the biggest threat. Building on the successes of prior years’ operations, Operation RapTOR furthered global efforts to dismantle darknet marketplaces, resulting in the seizure of darknet infrastructure from Nemesis, Tor2Door, Bohemia, and Kingdom Markets.
By the time he graduated from National Taiwan University in June 2023, he had already built a reputation as a blockchain enthusiast and a skilled developer. In perhaps the most extraordinary twist in the case, Lin, who is only 23 years-old, worked for the Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “The defendant’s greed and disregard for others was further demonstrated by his alleged extortion attempt during the platform’s final days,” lamented Ivan J Arvelo of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York. But just as the operator of Incognito Market certainly collected skills, he also collected enemies. First of all, many of the listings were not pure or authentic in their contents – the platform therefore facilitated the spread of the deadly substance fentanyl, according to the DoJ.
