New Dark Web Market Styx: Focuses on Money Laundering, Identity Theft

The emergence of Styx serves as evidence that despite the efforts of authorities to take down Dark Web marketplaces, new markets and platforms will continue to surface.

Recently, the seizure of the prominent Dark Web marketplace Genesis’s Clearnet domain was reported. Now, another equally notorious marketplace has emerged, known as Styx.

Resecurity’s cybersecurity researchers have identified Styx as a new Dark Web market that specializes in a wide range of illegal services, including identity theft, financial fraud, and money laundering.

This article will delve into the details of Styx, including how it works, what it sells, and the need for enhanced security measures to safeguard against its illicit activities.

Styx, which was announced in 2022, was officially launched in January 2023. It has quickly gained popularity among cybercriminals, and it has established an escrow module to enable secure transactions.

Styx users have access to a wide array of illegal services through the portal, including data dumps, stolen or fake IDs, DDoS, cash-out services, banking trojans, SIM cards, anti-fraud filters, and 2FA/MFA bypass solutions.

The marketplace also has a dedicated section for Trusted Sellers, which may be vendors vetted by marketplace administrators. However, details on how Styx operates are scarce, but researchers believe that it finds potential buyers through Telegram contacts and utilizes automated bots for security.

One of Styx’s main attractions is the availability of stolen online banking credentials, e-commerce and cryptocurrency accounts, and stolen credit card data. It also offers tools for committing VCC/virtual credit card and digital bank fraud.

Some vendors even sell personally identifiable information (PII), including stolen social security numbers (SSNs) and business, SSNs, and ID data of victims based in various countries such as the USA, UK, Canada, the Netherlands, and others.

Additionally, Styx offers fake IDs, forged documents, tools for committing money laundering for scammers and business email compromise (BEC), cybercrime and digital frauds, and email/telephone flooding services at varying prices ranging from $4 to $150 per day.

According to Resecurity’s report, the platform also hosts cash-out shops that offer “clean” funds through PayPal and Apple Pay business accounts with merchant terminals.

Notably, money laundering is one of the site’s specialities, with known vendors offering this service for individual users starting from $15,000 and for businesses starting from $75,000, with Verta keeping a 50% share of the laundered amount.

Researchers have also identified a group of trending cash-out vendors that charge commissions based on the exact BIN of the card and brand of gift card.

Screenshots from the marketplace (Credit: Resecurity)

Styx has quickly gained traction as a hub for various illicit activities, following the seizure of Genesis. This underscores the need for e-commerce systems, digital banks, and payment portals to enhance their know-your-customer (KYC) checks and implement stringent fraud protections to safeguard against data breaches and illicit activities.

As Styx and other similar Dark Web marketplaces continue to operate, it is crucial for organizations and individuals to prioritize cybersecurity measures to protect sensitive information and mitigate the risks associated with illegal online activities.

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