Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

SecurityWeekSecurityWeek

Cybercrime

US Announces Takedown of Card-Checking Service, Charges Against Russian Operator

The US announces charges against Denis Gennadievich Kulkov, the creator and operator of card-checking platform Try2Check since 2005 until it was taken down this week.

The US Department of Justice this week announced the takedown of card-checking platform ‘Try2Check’ and charges against its Russian administrator.

The individual, Denis Gennadievich Kulkov, 43, created the platform in 2005 and operated it until the takedown. The US is offering a $10 million reward for information leading to his capture.

According to the indictment (PDF), Try2Check was created as a service for cybercriminals who sold and purchased stolen credit cards in bulk, allowing them to check whether the cards were valid and active. Cybercriminals then used the results to advertise the valid credit card numbers they had for sale.

Authorities estimate that the platform was processing tens of millions of card numbers on a yearly basis, enabling the illicit credit card trade through major card shops. The platform charged $0.20 per check, in Bitcoin.

Also known as Try2Services, Try2Check relied on unauthorized access to a US-based payment processing company’s servers to perform the checks, the indictment alleges.

The US took the card-checking platform’s websites offline this week, working together with German and Austrian authorities.

According to the indictment, Kulkov made over $18 million in Bitcoin, which he used to purchase luxury items, including a Ferrari. However, it is unclear how much he made from the scheme, as he also received proceeds through other payment systems.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

Kulkov was charged with access device fraud, computer intrusion, and money laundering. If found guilty, he faces up to 20 years in prison.

Related: Cybercrime Marketplace Leaks Over 2.1 Million Payment Cards

Related: Russian Operator of Cybercrime Marketplace Indicted in US

Related: Underground Carding Marketplace Joker’s Stash Announces Shutdown

Written By

Ionut Arghire is an international correspondent for SecurityWeek.

Click to comment

Daily Briefing Newsletter

Subscribe to the SecurityWeek Email Briefing to stay informed on the latest threats, trends, and technology, along with insightful columns from industry experts.

SecurityWeek’s Threat Detection and Incident Response Summit brings together security practitioners from around the world to share war stories on breaches, APT attacks and threat intelligence.

Register

Securityweek’s CISO Forum will address issues and challenges that are top of mind for today’s security leaders and what the future looks like as chief defenders of the enterprise.

Register

Expert Insights

Related Content

Cybercrime

The changing nature of what we still generally call ransomware will continue through 2023, driven by three primary conditions.

Cybercrime

Luxury retailer Neiman Marcus Group informed some customers last week that their online accounts had been breached by hackers.

Cybercrime

As it evolves, web3 will contain and increase all the security issues of web2 – and perhaps add a few more.

Cybercrime

A recently disclosed vBulletin vulnerability, which had a zero-day status for roughly two days last week, was exploited in a hacker attack targeting the...

Cybercrime

Satellite TV giant Dish Network confirmed that a recent outage was the result of a cyberattack and admitted that data was stolen.

Cybercrime

Zendesk is informing customers about a data breach that started with an SMS phishing campaign targeting the company’s employees.

Artificial Intelligence

The release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in late 2022 has demonstrated the potential of AI for both good and bad.

Artificial Intelligence

The degree of danger that may be introduced when adversaries start to use AI as an effective weapon of attack rather than a tool...