Russian Authorities Dismantle Major Cybercrime Group, Jail Ex-FSB Officer
Russian authorities have dismantled a major cybercrime group that sold millions of stolen payment cards online. Six members were arrested in February 2022, including a former FSB officer, Grigory Tsaregorodtsev, who was sentenced to nine years in prison for accepting a bribe.
Tsaregorodtsev, previously head of the counterintelligence department in Perm, accepted the bribe to ignore the activities of the cybercrime group. The group targeted online stores running outdated software, installing web skimmers to steal credit card details. They sold these stolen cards on online shops like Trump's Dumps. The FSB seized multiple carding shops, including Trump's Dumps, along with $154,000 in cash, 100 gold bars, real estate, and expensive cars.
The domains of the seized carding shops were registered by an IT consulting company in Perm called Get-net LLC, owned in part by Artem Zaitsev, one of the arrested men. Tsaregorodtsev's lawyers argued he was guilty of fraud, not bribery, but four defendants cooperated and exposed the scheme after Tsaregorodtsev failed to transfer their case.
The dismantling of this cybercrime group has significantly disrupted the online sale of stolen payment cards. The seizure of assets and imprisonment of key figures, including a former FSB officer, sends a strong message about the consequences of such activities.
