“Drug traffickers who think they can operate outside the law on the dark web are wrong,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland. Prosecutors say the Incognito Market incorporated features from legitimate e-commerce sites, including advertising, branding and customer service. The information provided is for reference purposes only, and users bear full responsibility for their reliance on it. Notably, the diagram indicated “vendor,” “listing,” “pgp key,” and “admin review,” all of which are features of (Incognito Market),” the complaint said. “Collectively, these coding projects indicate that LIN has significant technical computing knowledge, including knowledge necessary to administer a site like (“Incognito Marketplace”),” the complaint said. Lin seems like a knowledgeable person in the field of security and cryptocurrency, as per social media accounts listed in the complaint against him.
The Taiwanese Driver’s License lists an address in Taipei, Taiwan, and the name is “林睿庠,” which is the Mandarin language spelling of Rui-Siang Lin,” Rubens wrote. The unraveling of Lin’s empire began when the FBI detected crypto transfers from Incognito Market to a centralized exchange. This development marks a significant breakthrough in combating cyber-enabled drug distribution. Notably, the narcotics conspiracy charge Lin faces carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum potential sentence of life imprisonment. If convicted, Lin is looking at a mandatory life sentence on a criminal enterprise charge. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams stated on Monday, when Lin appeared in court, that the so-called “dark web” is not a sanctuary for individuals attempting to engage in unlawful activities.
Rui-Siang Lin, also known as Ruisiang Lin, 林睿庠, Pharoah, and faro, was apprehended at John F. Kennedy Airport on May 18 in connection with his alleged operation of “Incognito Market,” a major dark web narcotics marketplace. “This arrest underscores the dedicated, ongoing efforts of law enforcement to identify and dismantle illicit drug networks operating from every shadowy recess of the marketplace,” said New York Police Department Commissioner Edward A. Caban. “For nearly four years, Rui-Siang Lin allegedly operated Incognito Market, one of the largest online platforms for narcotics sales, conducting $100 million in illicit narcotics transactions and reaping millions of dollars in personal profits,” said FBI New York Assistant Director in Charge James Smith. As Pharoah — the leader of Incognito market — Lin supervised all of its operations, including its employees, vendors and customers, and had ultimate decision-making authority over every aspect of the multimillion-dollar operation. The marketplace demanded buyers and vendors use its own crypto services so it could skim 5% of every purchase and offer an escrow service, the Department of Justice (DOJ) alleged.
Role Of “Pharaoh”: The Dual Life Of Rui-Siang Lin
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. The El Dorado Task Force’s Darkweb and Cryptocurrency Task Force leverages cutting-edge techniques to target even the Internet’s most savvy criminals. “The defendant’s greed and disregard for others was further demonstrated by his alleged extortion attempt during the platform’s final days. “Drug traffickers who think they can operate outside the law on the dark web are wrong,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland.
Incognito Market: The Notorious Dark Web Marketplace And The Fall Of 'Pharaoh'
Each time this happens, it erodes trust in the remaining markets and pushes users to either flock to other established markets or retreat to smaller, invite-only communities. Incognito’s demise also highlighted the persistent issue of trust and instability in the darknet market ecosystem. Many modern darknet markets have since gone further, with some operating exclusively in Monero to avoid the kind of blockchain tracing that helped catch Lin. By 2020, one of the leading markets, Empire Market, infamously exit-scammed and disappeared with users’ funds, leaving a power vacuum.
Security Incognito Marketplace
“Pharao” created the Incognito marketplace when he was just a student, probably trying to make more money. Investigation of crypto transactions that led to the arrest of Riu-Siang Lin shows that threat actors and criminals in the underground forums cannot operate alone and without leaving any traces when switching to real life. Among these features one could find Direct Pay, implying buyers could use their wallets instead of those provided by the marketplace. Compared to other marketplaces, it offered innovative and a much more user-friendly interface.
Latest High-Profile Arrests
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (“OCDETF”) operation. RUI-SIANG LIN, 23, of Taiwan, pled guilty to one count of narcotics conspiracy, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum potential sentence of life in prison; one count of money laundering, which carries a maximum potential sentence of 20 years in prison; and one count of conspiracy to sell adulterated and misbranded medication, which carries a maximum potential sentence of five years in prison. That diagram, which is pictured below, contains features consistent with the operation of Incognito Market. To become an Incognito Market vendor, each vendor was required to register with the site and pay an admission fee. Each listing on Incognito Market was sold by a particular vendor.
Darknet Market Operators Threaten User Data Leak After Exit Scam
For cybersecurity professionals and law enforcement agents, the take-down of Incognito Market is rife with lessons. Knowing that Lin resided overseas (Taiwan, and possibly on assignment in St. Lucia), law enforcement had to be strategic about how to apprehend him. Moreover, the Namecheap domain registrations under Lin’s name provided a concrete link between his real-life identity and the dark web (through that market-tracking site). It might have been a slip such as the server leaking its real IP address at some point, or perhaps the task force traced patterns of cryptocurrency transactions to a specific host. They also demonstrated the tangible dangers of Incognito’s trade, bolstering the urgency of the case – as noted by prosecutors, Incognito was peddling “misbranded” meds that put unsuspecting users at risk.
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- The post-Incognito environment likely saw vendors diversifying to multiple marketplaces and using new aliases, which contributes to the fragmentation mentioned earlier.
- It’s notable that around the same time, Lin in his real-life persona was burnishing his credentials in cryptocurrency tracing.
- Many modern darknet markets have since gone further, with some operating exclusively in Monero to avoid the kind of blockchain tracing that helped catch Lin.
- The dark web’s Incognito Market allowed people to buy and sell narcotics worldwide.
- Pharaoh threatened to release the identities and private messages of all Incognito vendors and buyers to law enforcement unless he was paid off – essentially holding his own user base hostage.
- That diagram, which is pictured below, contains features consistent with the operation of Incognito Market.
Lin is unaware that his every step is being monitored, unaware that the online empire he built, the infamous Incognito Market, is about to crumble. Prosecutors said Lin would face a minimum penalty of life in prison if convicted for engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise or narcotics conspiracy. The DOJ said each vendor paid 5% of every sale to Incognito Market, which funded its operations and salaries. The Department of Justice said Rui-Siang Lin has been arrested in connection to allegedly operating the Incognito Market, which the DOJ says helped trade narcotics anonymously around the world. Lin demanded ransom in the range of $100 to $2,000 from them in exchange of not turning their data over to the law enforcement. “With the escrow service, sellers know they will be paid for their illegal narcotics and buyers know their payments will be released to sellers after specified events occur,” the complaint said.
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The platform’s functionality included a “bank” system where users could deposit cryptocurrency into personal accounts. Incognito Market, an online dark web platform, was launched in October 2020. The EDTF is the premier money laundering task force in the nation and is comprised of more than 200 law enforcement personnel representing approximately thirty-five (35) federal, state, and local law enforcement and regulatory agencies. After a narcotics transaction was completed, cryptocurrency from the buyer’s account was transferred to the seller’s account, less the 5% fee that Incognito collected. Incognito Market was designed to foster seamless narcotics transactions across the internet and across the world and incorporated many features of legitimate e-commerce sites, such as branding, advertising and customer service. Since that time, and through its closing in March 2024, Incognito Market sold more than $100 million in narcotics — including hundreds of kilograms of cocaine and methamphetamines.
The DOJ noted that the marketplace had closed in March this year, coinciding with a previously reported exit scam that allegedly stole millions of dollars worth of customer’s BTC and XMR. A 23-year-old man has been arrested in New York and charged with owning, running and profiting from a $100-million dark web narcotics marketplace after authorities claimed to have tracked crypto transfers that uncovered his real identity. The FBI claimed it found Incognito Market’s alleged owner, Rui-Siang Lin, by tracking crypto from the dark web drug market to a crypto exchange account allegedly in his name.
Incognito Link
Abacus Market, once the undisputed leader of darknet marketplaces in the West, suddenly went offline in mid-2024, leaving users and users a… His arrest brought to light the scale of his operation, revealing that Incognito Market was responsible for millions of dollars’ worth of illicit transactions, including the sale of narcotics, counterfeit goods, and more. Following the collapse, users became more vigilant in their dealings on darknet marketplaces, leading to a greater emphasis on safety protocols and risk management. It wasn’t enough that the dark web marketplace facilitated the exchange of dangerous drugs and illegal activities. In the summer of 2021, during Incognito Market's relatively quiet first year, Lin's alleged alter ego, Pharoah, launched a service called Antinalysis, a website designed to analyze blockchains and let users check—for a fee—whether their cryptocurrency could be connected to criminal transactions.
