The administration of the darknet marketplace Incognito Market is suspected of executing an exit scam, allegedly absconding with “millions” in Bitcoin and Monero. This claim was made by analysts at Dark Web Informer.
?BREAKING?Incognito Market, the 2nd largest Darknet Market, has been confirmed as exit scamming. DO NOT USE INCOGNITO MARKET!!! Please Repost!!! #Darknet #DarkWebInformer #Cybersecurity #Cyberattack #Cybercrime #Incogntio #IncognitoMarket #ExitScam pic.twitter.com/wt1O3DRO82
— Dark Web Informer (@DarkWebInformer) March 5, 2024
Since March 4, users of the platform have reported issues with cryptocurrency withdrawals, sparking initial suspicions of fraud.
?WARNING?Many users on Incognito Market are having BTC and XMR withdrawal issues. I will update this thread if Incognito admins update or receive another update from HugBunter. #Incognito #IncognitoMarket #DarkWebInformer #Cybersecurity #Cyberattack #Cybercrime #Darknet pic.twitter.com/kZIBaquIVU
— Dark Web Informer (@DarkWebInformer) March 4, 2024
In response, a marketplace administrator known as pharoah stated that the issues arose due to changes in Incognito’s withdrawal systems.
“The initial stages of this update may affect usability for the first few days as the servers multitask both synchronizing old data and handling new requests,” he wrote.
The discussion was joined by Hugbunter, an administrator of the darknet site Dread. During the dialogue, pharoah allegedly offered him a “bribe” to remove posts about Incognito Market.
“Unfortunately, I can now 100% confirm the exit scam,” stated Hugbunter.
He advised users to cease depositing funds on the marketplace.
Incognito Market primarily specializes in the sale of drugs. According to a weekly ranking by Dark Web Informer, the platform ranked second in early March with an estimated value of $10-30 million.
1/3 Darknet Market Rankings and Ransomware Group Rankings for 23rd of February through 29th of February 2024. I will be doing these rankings from Ransomware on Fridays, weekly. Darknet Markets may only be changed bi-weekly, unless a market closes, then it will be updated that… pic.twitter.com/fCxoC5ezUe
— Dark Web Informer (@DarkWebInformer) March 1, 2024
Earlier, ForkLog reported that Germany dismantled the largest darknet marketplace, Crimemarket, arresting six individuals, including the 23-year-old operator of the platform.