RaidForums Owner, Diego Santos Coelho, To Be Immediately Extradited To The US To Stand Trial On Allegations Of Trading Stolen Data

JAKARTA - US and European authorities announced on Tuesday, April 12, that they had seized RaidForums, a popular website used by hackers to buy and sell stolen data. The United States government also opened a lawsuit against the website's founder and chief administrator, Diego Santos Coelho.

Coelho, a 21-year-old from Portugal, was arrested in England on January 31, 2022, and remains in custody while the United States is extradited for trial in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

The US Department of Justice said it had obtained court approval to confiscate three different domain names hosting the RaidForums website: raidforums.com, Rf.ws and Raid.lol.

Among the types of data available for sale on the site include stolen bank routing and account numbers, credit card information, login credentials, and social security numbers.

In a parallel statement, Europol also praised the removal that said the online marketplace RaidForums had been seized in an operation known as "Operation Tourniquet," which helped coordinate investigations by authorities from the United States, Britain, Germany, Sweden, Portugal, and Romania.

"Intrusion has always been a key technique in operating against online threat actors, so targeting forums hosting large amounts of stolen data keeps criminals on the alert," said the head of Europol's European Cybercrime Center, Edvardas ileris, in a statement quoted by Reuters.

Apart from Coelho, two suspected accomplices have also been arrested. But authorities did not provide further details about the other two people who were arrested.

Coelho faces six charges. The US Department of Justice charged him with conspiracy, device access fraud, and severe identity theft.

It is alleged that between January 1, 2015, and his arrest in January 2022, he controlled and served as the site's chief administrator.

"To profit from illicit activity on the platform, RaidForums is charging increased prices for membership tiers that offer greater access and features, including top-tier 'God' membership status," the Justice Department said in a statement.