The U.S. Department of Justice has seized PopeyeTools, a major cybercrime website operating since 2016, and filed criminal charges against three of its administrators. The website served as an underground marketplace for stolen financial data and hacking tools.
The charged administrators are Abdul Ghaffar (25) and Abdul Sami (35) from Pakistan, and Javed Mirza (37) from Afghanistan. They face accusations of running a multi-million dollar operation trafficking stolen credit cards, bank account details, and other illicit materials.
According to the DOJ, PopeyeTools facilitated the sale of sensitive financial information belonging to at least 227,000 individuals, generating approximately $1.7 million in revenue. The platform offered "live" credit card data for around $30 per card, along with bank account credentials, spam email lists, and fraud tutorials.
The website provided unique features like validity verification for stolen data and replacement guarantees for non-working credit card information, establishing itself as a trusted source among cybercriminals.
As part of the operation, U.S. authorities seized three domains associated with PopeyeTools:
Law enforcement also secured approximately $283,000 worth of cryptocurrency from an account controlled by Abdul Sami.
The investigation involved international cooperation between U.S. law enforcement and agencies from the United Kingdom and Malaysia. Each administrator faces up to 10 years in prison per charge if convicted of access device fraud offenses.
FBI Assistant Director Bryan Vorndran emphasized that dismantling criminal infrastructure remains central to combating online fraud. The case will be prosecuted in the Western District of New York, where some victims resided.
This takedown represents the latest action in ongoing efforts by U.S. authorities to disrupt illegal online marketplaces facilitating cybercrime and fraud. The DOJ maintains its commitment to using all available resources to combat cybercrime activities that threaten financial security.