Deer.io takedown: Russian citizen jailed for selling stolen personal information of US citizens online
A Russian citizen continues to be jailed for 30 months for his role in selling stolen credit card information as well as other data employed to fuel further criminal activity.
Kirill Victorovich Firsov, 30, from Moscow, acted because the administrator of a web site that provided stolen information that is personal and other services to be used for cybercrime, a US Department of Justice release states.
One-stop cybercrime platform
As previously reported by The Daily Swig, the now-defunct website – Deer.io – hosted a projected 2,000 illicit online retailers and made approximately $17 million during its seven-year operation.
It sold information including gamer account logins, plus the information that is personal of US citizens not limited to names, current addresses, phone numbers, as well as times Social Security numbers.
Deer.io was already released as small as October 2013 and world market url was power down following Firsov’s arrest in March 2020 after an operation during which the FBI purchased 1,100 gamer accounts as well as personal data for over 3,600 Americans.
The prosecutor asserted that Firsov knew deer.io was selling stolen and counterfeit accounts as they built the platform.
“Also, deer.io was easily searchable, so anyone – including Firsov – could search prestashop for stolen US accounts and information,” the release reads.
“Even though it sold stolen accounts, deer.io hasn’t been cloaked in secrecy and required no special password for access, because everything was uses up Russia, and American police officers could gain no foothold.”
‘Sending a message’
“The FBI will pursue cybercriminals worldwide,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge, Suzanne Turner.
“Today’s sentence sends a communication – conducting criminal activity from the outside the United States does not always mean you will be out from reach.
“The FBI will identify and pursue criminal actors from the cyber-sphere, where ever they operate, and work to bring the theifs to justice within a United States court.”