Social media sites and online marketplaces allow arms traffickers to identify and engage with potential clients located across town, in other countries, or, in some cases, on different continents. Sites on the dark web are used for this purpose but so are legitimate, mainstream websites. Some companies have taken steps to prevent arms trafficking on their sites, but completely eradicating it is extremely difficult.
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- The flow of weapons from the United States to organized crime groups (as the indictment above indicates) such as CJNG can then be leveraged by criminal groups to trade for drugs in Colombia, which will travel to Mexico and the United States.
- In a statement published by the site administrators in July of this year, Agora referenced “scamming by dishonest vendors” as one of the reasons for removing lethal weapons from its shelves.
- From these consistencies, which researchers collected between February 2016 and May 2016, Holt was able to draw conclusions—as well as ask more pointed questions for follow-up research.
- Countries geographically close to the United States likely do not need to purchase firearms on the darknet and can rely on direct smuggling across the border.
- In the United States, for example, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has a dedicated dark web team that monitors online marketplaces for illegal firearm sales.
A huge selection of weaponry is available to virtually anyone around the globe at the click of button, without the involvement of any laws. On its face, the Armory looks like the best—or worst, depending on your perspective—gun store the world has ever seen. “The Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons on the Dark Web” can be accessed online here. “I really hope this report helps put a little bit of evidence on a lot of the urban legends that are around there,” Paoli said.
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At least, that’s the idea presented when casually scrolling through the digital shelves of online markets. Freshtools was established in 2019 and offers various stolen credentials, accounts, and host protocols like RDP. It is considered a go-to site for malware purchasing, providing keyloggers, trojans, and other Malware as a Service products. Valued at approximately $15 million, Abacus Market is one of the most lucrative platforms in the dark web ecosystem. In 2024, the platform grew significantly in popularity, partly because of its strategic acquisition of users from a number of recently shut-down marketplaces, such as AlphaBay and Incognito Market, which had recently closed their doors.
Firearms make up approximately 40% of weapon listings on the dark web, with digital products like manuals on how to make explosives or blueprints for 3D printing weapons following closely behind at around 30%. Despite this, many potential sellers have refused to complete sales of these illegal weapons. Roughly three-fifths of the weapons sold on a selection of dark web marketplaces originate from the United States, according to a new study examining the scope of the internet’s black market arms trade. A study by Rand Corporation found that weapons sold on the darknet are typically weapons that were already in the black market or weapons that were legally owned and then redirected to the darknet.
There are many reasons buyers could turn to the dark web to purchase a weapon, Holt explained. One example would be a buyer who can’t legally obtain a firearm; another explanation would be that the buyer lives in a country with stricter gun laws. Debates over gun regulations make headlines across the world, butthere’s an underground operation for weapons that has drawn very littleattention – until now.
Before you access deep web sites, you need to be aware of the dangers that can lurk on the dark web, such as viruses or other malware. Tor Links is a backup directory of “.onion” sites in case other directories go offline. Listings included offerings of prescription medication that was falsely advertised as being authentic.
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Mainstream search engines cover only about 20 percent of the internet, with the majority of users avoiding the dark net and the so-called deep web. While this vast parallel online universe is at times a den of iniquity and shady dealings, including the trade of illegal weapons, it can also be used for other purposes. The dark web is being used to buy conventional firearms rather than weapons of war, and at legal-market prices, new US research shows.
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“We shouldn’t take these markets as trivial because they could grow, travel, and change very quickly. It takes just one gun purchased through the dark web to kill someone and the danger is very real,” Holt says. The research reveals key insights on a trade that undercuts gun laws in the United States, as well as other countries around the world where regulations are tighter. The researchers say hybrid metal and plastic 3D printed components and kits are also up for sale online.
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While the content is intentionally redacted for public distribution, the Telegram channels offering the services are the same. DarkOwl analysts also considered the very real probability that the threat actor offering these services is a scammer. The flow of weapons from the United States to organized crime groups (as the indictment above indicates) such as CJNG can then be leveraged by criminal groups to trade for drugs in Colombia, which will travel to Mexico and the United States. Thus, weapons from the United States typically end up in Mexico and Colombia and Colombian drugs find their way back to the United States.
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The first high-profile murders carried out by someone who claimed to be incel-inspired were in May 2014, when 22-year-old Elliot Rodger killed six people in a stabbing and shooting spree at a campus of the University of California, Santa Barbara. Eventually, I discovered threads in which Jacob D had uploaded photos of himself, including one where he showed his face. 4chan is ephemeral (posts are routinely culled) and supposedly anonymous (the default name setting for anyone posting is simply “Anonymous”). However, the website inserts a unique string of letters and numbers that stick with each person in any one thread—as a way of keeping track of who’s who in a conversation, while maintaining the veneer of anonymity. The scammer encourages customers to “finalize early”—that is, send the full fee for the weapon before they receive it—and provides them with a postal tracking code.
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Some sellers may also require buyers to use a “dead drop” or “middleman” service to complete the transaction, adding an extra layer of anonymity. Of the 811 listings, 41 percent were for firearms; 27 percent were for arms-related digital products; and 22 percent were for ammunition. The most common firearms sold were pistols (84 percent) while rifles and submachine guns made up 10 and 6 percent of the listings, respectively. Given the global nature of the dark web, fostering international collaboration among law enforcement agencies is crucial.
A Crime Script Model Of Dark Web Firearms Purchasing
ATF agents use investigative tools and techniques to uncover leads and build cases against those using the internet for illegal firearm purchases. This involves a combination of undercover work, surveillance, intelligence gathering, and collaborating with other law enforcement agencies. A few sites offer mostly similar weapons found in gun stores or gun re-sellers found around the United States. Other sites advertise military-grade weapons that are typically not available to civilians, including anti-tank guided munitions (ATGMs), e.g. It isn’t at all surprising that so much of the illegal weapons trade now takes place on the Dark Web, the shadowy parallel Internet system where criminals operate vast, untraceable, anonymous marketplaces for outlawed goods and services.
Listings also often include where a vendor will ship from, and where to, meaning researchers can see which destinations are more popular, or where items are sourced. Recently, The Tor Project sent out a press statement claiming they had a broad population of “normal users” who simply desired the privacy and cybersecurity afforded by Tor and had no inclination towards criminal or illicit activity. Beginning in September 2021, Abacus Market has established itself as one of the leading dark web marketplaces. After AlphaBay closed, Abacus Market took its place as the world’s largest underground darknet marketplaces. Abacus Market quickly rose to prominence by attracting former AlphaBay users and providing a comprehensive platform for a wide range of illicit activities. In contrast, Europe accounts for 23.6 percent of the gun sales, which is unsurprising given that most European countries have stricter gun-control laws than the US.
