"Cybercriminals Are Scamming Each Other, Tipping off Law Enforcement"

Cybercriminals are scamming each other and using arbitration to settle disputes about the scams. Sophos experts investigated two Russian-language cybercrime forums with Access-as-a-Service (AaaS) listings, as well as an English-language cybercrime forum and marketplace specializing in data leaks. All three were discovered to have their own arbitration rooms. The practice of cybercriminals scamming each other is lucrative even though this resolution process occasionally results in mayhem among the "plaintiffs and defendants," with some accused criminals disappearing or calling the complainants themselves "rippers." Researchers looked at 600 scams over the course of a year that cost threat actors a combined total of more than $2.5 million on just these three forums, with claims ranging from $2 to $160,000. They discovered a sub-economy of cybercriminals while looking into scams, including not just lower-level criminals but some of the most well-known ransomware organizations. These scams are not always just done for money since rivalries and personal grudges were found to be common. They also discovered instances where cybercriminals would scam the scammers who had scammed them. In one instance, they discovered a trolling competition set up to exact revenge on a scammer who was attempting to trick users into paying $250 to become a member of a fake underground forum. The "contest winner" took home $100. The researchers also found that the arbitration processes left a wealth of untapped intelligence behind, which security experts and law enforcement could use to better understand and combat the actions of cybercriminals. This article continues to discuss observations made from the exploration of cybercriminal sites.

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