More than 100 people have been arrested as part of an international operation to shut down a criminal online marketplace selling stolen personal data.
Genesis Market was closed on 4 April following coordinated raids led by the FBI and Dutch police and involving law enforcement agencies across 17 countries, including the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA).
The marketplace is one of the largest in the world and offered up 80 million sets of details for sale, affecting two million victims.
Details including online banking, Facebook, Amazon, PayPal and Netflix account information could be bought alongside so-called digital fingerprints containing data from victims’ devices, allowing criminals to bypass online security checks.
Prices started from 70 cents US (56p) and went up to several hundreds of dollars, depending on the information available.
The most expensive would allow access to the victims’ online banking information.
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Genesis Market would offer buyers a custom browser which mimicked that of the victim, allowing them to make payments from the correct location without appearing suspicious.
You can check whether your data has been stolen and accessed by criminals on Genesis Market on the certified Check Your Hack website.
Run by the Dutch National Police (Politie) force, which worked on the investigation, it allows you to input your email address to find out if your data has been compromised and on which platform.
Some 24 people were arrested in the UK, including two men who were detained in Grimsby on suspicion of the Computer Misuse Act and fraud offences.
Rob Jones, NCA Director General, said of the operation to bring down the website: “Behind every cyber-criminal or fraudster is the technical infrastructure that provides them with the tools to execute their attacks and the means to benefit financially from their offending.
“Genesis Market was a prime example of such a service and was one of the most significant platforms on the criminal market. Its removal will be a huge blow to criminals across the globe.”
The NCA Director General added: “The NCA is attacking criminal infrastructure from all angles and those seeking to use such services should be aware that we are coming after them.”
The NCA has devised five steps to follow to protect devices and online accounts, which includes tips on how to check if you’ve been hacked, advice on ensuring the latest security updates are installed and how to choose a secure password.
Anyone who believes they may have been a victm is encouraged to make a report, either to Action Fraud via their online portal, or if you live in Scotland by calling 101.
