It’s not clear if the photographs are real or genuinely linked to the services the websites claim to offer. There is also a disturbing amount of apparent “murder-for-hire” sites offering hitman services in exchange for cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin. “If they were real assassins, they were the most incompetent assassins you would ever come across,” Miller added. The saga began in 2020 when Chris Monteiro, an IT technician and hacker, was browsing the site and found a security vulnerability that gave him complete access to it, The Guardian reported. According to the outlet, he found a “kill list,” a spreadsheet listing hundreds of people from all over the world whom clients wanted eliminated. “I need you to help me do some videos to prove the Besa Mafia legit, but WITHOUT killing anyone,” the operator wrote in one email, trying to get a contractor to produce lifelike videos.
RentAHitman.com is a satirical1 website purporting to offer contract killers for hire. Upon checking the site’s email inbox in 2008, he found hundreds of messages requesting contract killing services, but he considered none to be serious. When checking again in 2010, however, he found a serious request from a woman in Canada. He passed her details to the police, and she was convicted for soliciting murder. The website attracted customers from every corner of the world.
- The dark web hitman concept highlights the darker side of human nature and the lengths to which individuals will go to satisfy their urges.
- These services can range from simple surveillance to complex assassination plots, and the prices can vary widely depending on the level of service required.
- A law enforcement source told “48 Hours,” “there is no evidence at this time that Mrs. Alexis States was involved.”
- Most of the kids seem upbeat despite the long hours on the highway.
- Her favourite topics to cover are music, travel and any bizarre pop culture.
One Great Story: A Nightly Newsletter For The Best Of New York
And payments in bitcoin for the hits—many in the tens of thousands of dollars. There are lots of marketplaces on the dark web, some of them specialized on drugs, others on murder for hire services, and others more general. The problem is you won’t really be able to search for them, so you’ll need to search yourself. Whether you’ve seen it in the news, online or you’ve just heard rumors about the dark web, much of what you’ve heard is true. From guns and illicit drugs to hacker services and even murder for hire services. The DIICOT says that the damages of the operation are believed to be around 500,000 euros, though if the scammers held onto the bitcoin they collected back in 2016, it would be worth far more than that today.
Jauan Rashun Porter was arrested and detained today on federal charges of knowingly and willfully making a threat against the President of the United States. James Wan, 54, of Duluth, Georgia, pleaded guilty to one count of using a facility of interstate commerce in the commission of murder-for-hire. The sentencing is scheduled for January 18, 2024, before U.S. For many, the dark web seems like a mysterious place on the internet only the most experienced hackers and technologically savvy users can access. However, according to Dr. Holt, this couldn’t be further from the truth. In late 2019, Beau Brigham, a onetime YouTube star, went on trial for solicitation of murder after “48 Hours” tipped authorities to his case.
Exploring The Dark Web: Hitman For Hire And The Realities Of Online Activities
Venturing into its murky depths is like navigating through a digital minefield. Even if hitmen are rare, the Dark Web is still home to some seriously nasty characters peddling illegal goods and services. Most importantly, look for a reputable market and it should have an escrow service. Basically, your digital coins will be held by the market administrator until the service is delivered.
- During his investigation, Miller also reached out to potential victims to tell them their private information — including workplace addresses and photographs — had been posted online.
- In 2016, Monteiro discovered a vulnerability in one of Yura’s websites that allowed him to scrape its data, including direct messages and payments.
- In 2015, Beau set up a GoFund Me page where he raised more than $40,000 to allegedly pay for medical treatment.
- In April, however, the Corderos got a brief glimpse at Christopher’s sentencing.
Combating Transnational Crime
Payment for services is typically made in cryptocurrency, which further adds to the anonymity of the transactions. This is why Monteiro is ambivalent about the news of Yura’s apparent apprehension, despite years of working to shed light on the operation and its victims. “It’s great an international law enforcement operation took down these criminals, but when will they ever proactively investigate the thousands of names on the kill list?
🧠 The Origins Of The Hitmen-for-Hire Myth
Alternately called “Camorra Hitman” and “#1 Hitman Marketplace,” Besa has long offered to connect paying dark web patrons to capable contract killers. He offered to pay for her children’s tuition fees to attend St. Aloysius Catholic School and Gonzaga Preparatory School. Allwine was arrested Tuesday, and his bail was set at $1 million without conditions, or $500,000 if he is monitored by GPS, doesn’t travel, and does not visit his 9-year-old son. The FBI protected his girlfriend and Wan was later questioned. The doctor confessed to ordering the hitman and later canceled the order. The gun was also found to the left of her although she was right-handed, officials said.
Are Dark-web Hitmen Services Just A Scam?
Send me a proof when the job’s done.” A payment of 0.53 bitcoin (worth around $5,000 at the time) was made to the tipster’s wallet on February 4, 2020, law enforcement said. In February 2020, the anonymous scammer told the FBI in Washington state about a $5,000 order, saying, “I feel that all targets that have been paid for are in danger. Customers that pay to kill someone show that they are serious about killing that person,” according to a just-unsealed search warrant reviewed by Forbes. The tipster was not identified and it’s unclear if the FBI knows their real identity.
The Real Dangers: Cybercrime And Cybersecurity
Of course, due to the nature of unenforceable contracts, such guarantees are worthless. The sites are full of “trust signals” that are designed to make visitors feel like they are dealing with a legit website. Some sites mention they will not accept a hit on a minor, whereas others will but won’t carry out terror acts such as using explosives in a public place. We found that a lot of the sites just don’t feel trustworthy to begin with.
However, by most journalistic accounts, the vast majority of hitman services on the dark-web are scam sites set up to steal thousands in bitcoins from people looking to have someone murdered. The term dark web hitman often conjures images of clandestine operations, illegal dealings, and a shadowy underbelly of the internet. The dark web comprises parts of the internet that are not indexed by traditional search engines and require specific software to access. The only real danger is the possibility that the person you’re hiring is a criminal.
Since the early days of the Deep Web, various websites have arisen Possibly seeking to capitalise on such confidence, ‘Hitman Network’. A website allegedly offering hitmen for hire has been created in Turkey internet’s dark web section which is not accessible to everyone. There just isn’t a large demand for guns on the dark web and it is not worth for uk/hitman-hire-how-dark-web-contract-killer-site-besamafia-was-exposed.
After several hours of driving around, the detectives find the van at a Starbucks parking lot. The detectives follow her to a house and approach her in the driveway. Two months after the San Luis Obispo police got their tip from Chris Monteiro and “48 Hours,” cops finally have Laurie’s suspected tormentor in their sights.
His overall narrative of being a killer-baiter in shining armour doesn’t hold water. BRspd, the hacker who in 2016 twice broke into Besa Mafia’s website, told me over private chat that he had approached Yura about turning Besa Mafia into an actual honeypot for criminals. In March 2017, they arrested David Crichton, a British doctor who had ordered a hit on his former financial advisor. Crichton did not pay the website, though, and later said he had put in the order just out of frustration; Crichton was cleared of any wrongdoing in July 2018.
