Man accused of running a website selling personal data

The Public Prosecutor's Office has accused a man of having created and managed the RaidForums website on the dark web between 2015 and 2022, on which he sold personal data that he accessed illegally, the Porto Regional Attorney General's Office revealed this Wednesday.

On its official website , the prosecutor's office stated that the suspect was selling illegitimately appropriated databases on RaidForums containing bank identification and bank account numbers, payment card data, access credentials to home banking services, civil identification data, email addresses and social security numbers.

At least 739,811 users were registered on that website, he noted.

The prosecution stressed that the defendant, as an administrator, had unlimited access to all the features of that website and the power to manage the activities of its members.

“As administrator and user of the site, he made numerous publications for the sale of confidential data obtained illegally and, at the same time, in exchange for payment of a fee (commission), he sold intermediary services for transactions ( middleman ) ensuring their success among users/members of the site” , reinforced the PGR-P.

The defendant obtained profits from managing RaidForums in cryptocurrencies through various platforms, which were then channeled into the national banking system or a PayPal account, he explained.

The prosecution stressed that with this activity the suspect obtained more than 634 thousand euros , money with which he bought a house and an electric car, worth 300 thousand euros.

At the time of the seizure, the bank accounts held by the defendant had a balance of 259 thousand euros.

The Public Prosecutor's Office requested the forfeiture in favor of the State of the assets and values ​​obtained by the defendant through that activity.