Department of Justice seizes cybercrime site PopeyeTools and charges its managers
The Department of Justice announced the closure of PopeyeTools, an illegal cybercrime marketplace, and indicted three of its managers - Abdul Ghaffar and Abdul Sami in Pakistan, and Javed Mirza in Afghanistan. The three were charged with conspiracy to commit access device fraud, illegally trade access devices, and sell illegal tools and data through websites, including stolen bank account info and payment card data.
PopeyeTools, which has been in operation since 2016, is a global marketplace primarily used to sell sensitive financial data and cybercrime tools, selling information on at least 227,000 victims and making about $1.70 million in profits. The Justice Department's action also included the seizure of the domain names and cryptocurrencies worth about $283,000. The Justice Department noted that the managers involved could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison on each charge if convicted. The case is being investigated by the FBI's Buffalo branch with assistance from law enforcement in the UK and Malaysia.