The Telegram messaging app blocked two sprawling Chinese-language digital black markets, which were notorious for activities by cybercriminals and scammers, dealing one of the biggest blows to dark-web-based businesses.
News agency Reuters reported that Xinbi Guarantee and Huione Guarantee, the Chinese-language markets known for serving cybercriminals and scammers, were inactive on Thursday.
Telegram said in a statement on Thursday that “criminal activities like scamming or money laundering are forbidden by Telegram's terms of service and are always removed whenever discovered.”
The company, Huione Guarantee, said in a statement that it has been blocked since Tuesday and would "cease operations from now on."
According to US officials, Huione Guarantee is part of the Cambodia-based Huione Group, which also owns Huione Pay and Huione Crypto. Last year, Reuters reported that Huione Pay had received over $150,000 worth of cryptocurrency from a digital wallet linked to the North Korean hacking group Lazarus. The company, at one point, rebranded as “Haowang Guarantee.”
Earlier this month, the US banned the Huione Group from its financial system. In a statement, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Huione Group was the “marketplace of choice for malicious cyber actors.”
Blockchain research firm Elliptic told Reuters that the two Chinese markets had collectively facilitated more than $35 billion in transactions since 2021. The volume of transactions was manifold higher than that of other black markets, such as the drug-focused Silk Road, which was internationally known for illegal drug distribution over the dark web.
{{/usCountry}}Blockchain research firm Elliptic told Reuters that the two Chinese markets had collectively facilitated more than $35 billion in transactions since 2021. The volume of transactions was manifold higher than that of other black markets, such as the drug-focused Silk Road, which was internationally known for illegal drug distribution over the dark web.
{{/usCountry}}“This is a big blow for online fraudsters, who relied on these markets for stolen data, money laundering services and telecoms infrastructure,” Elliptic said in a statement.
Indians trapped in SE Asian countries
Southeast Asian countries like Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar have become notorious in recent years for hosting cyber scam centres which trap vulnerable individuals with fake job offers and use them in return to perpetrate further crimes online.
India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) informed a parliamentary panel in April that at least 2,900 Indian citizens, including software engineers, have been rescued from cyber scam centres operating across Southeast Asia.
“The exact number of Indian nationals stuck in these countries is not known as they reach these scam centres on their own volition through fraudulent recruitment agencies and illegal channels,” the ministry stated in its submission.