Justice Department Seizes Cybercrime Website and Charges Its Administrators

The Justice Department seized the PopeyeTools cybercrime marketplace—along with its domains (www.PopeyeTools.com, .uk, .to)—and charged administrators Abdul Ghaffar, Abdul Sami, and Javed Mirza for trafficking access devices and related offenses; approximately $283,000 in cryptocurrency was also seized. Active since around 2016, PopeyeTools sold stolen payment card data, bank logs, PII, and other fraud tools to thousands of users, including some tied to ransomware, affecting at least 227,000 individuals and generating about $1.7 million. The FBI Buffalo Field Office led the investigation with international partners, and defendants face up to 10 years per count if convicted.