Dark Web marketplace taken down after CRTC levies anti-spam penalties

A person navigates to the on-line social-media pages of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) on a cell phone in Ottawa on Monday, May 17, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

GATINEAU, Que. -

Canada's broadcasting regulator says a prominent Dark Web marketplace has been taken off-line after it levied $300,000 in fines against four individuals linked to the business.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission says Canadian HeadQuarters was one of the largest Dark Web marketplaces in the world and significantly contributed to harmful cyberactivity in Canada.

The CRTC says the business also known as CanadianHQ specialized in the sale of spamming services, phishing kits, stolen credentials and access to compromised computers, which purchasers used for malicious activity.

The CRTC issued warrants in Montreal in 2020 and 2021 to help investigate four individuals, who allegedly sent emails mimicking well-known brands in order to obtain personal data including credit card numbers, banking credentials and other sensitive information.

The CRTC says Marc Anthony Younes, Souial Amarak and Moustapha Sabir are each facing $50,000 penalties for sending commissions that violate anti-spam legislation, while Chris Tyrone Dracos has been fined a heftier $150,000 for aiding in the commission of violations.

The Dark Web is a covert part of the internet often used for sales of illicit goods and services because it offers anonymity and makes it hard for authorities to trace unlawful activity.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 26, 2022.