Deer.io takedown: Russian citizen jailed for selling stolen personal data of US citizens online
A Russian citizen has been jailed for 30 months for his role in selling stolen credit-based card information and various data helpful to fuel further criminal activity.
Kirill Victorovich Firsov, 30, from Moscow, acted because the administrator of an online site that provided stolen sensitive information and also other services to get 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 approximately 2,000 illicit internet retailers making it approximately $17 million during its seven-year operation.
It sold information including gamer account logins, and the personal information of US citizens not restricted to names, current addresses, cell phone numbers, and at times Social Security numbers.
Deer.io was released who are only October 2013 and was turned off following Firsov’s arrest in March 2020 after an operation in which the FBI purchased 1,100 gamer accounts and the personal data upwards of 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 the system for stolen US accounts and knowledge,” the making reads.
“Though it sold stolen accounts, deer.io wasn’t cloaked in secrecy and required no special password for access, because everything was uses up Russia, and American police could gain no foothold.”
‘Sending a message’
“The FBI will pursue cybercriminals across the world market url,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge, Suzanne Turner.
“Today’s sentence sends a communication – conducting criminal activity external to the United States does not mean you might be from reach.
“The FBI will identify and pursue criminal actors while in the cyber-sphere, where ever they operate, and try to bring these to justice within a United States court.”