This made it extremely difficult for anyone to trace the origin of the traffic, providing a shield of anonymity for users of the market. He majored in computer science, focusing on cybersecurity and blockchain technology. His professors described him as a prodigy, someone who could solve complex problems with ease and elegance. Lin quickly became involved in various research projects, often working late into the night on coding challenges and cryptography puzzles.
How Incognito Market Maintained Anonymity
While popular items like cannabis and stimulants are available, the market excels with its ‘Other’ section in fraud, which includes a variety of unique guides and tools. Incognito also distinguishes itself with exclusive services such as tailored hacking solutions, malware, and in-demand data dumps, solidifying its role as a pioneer in the darknet market space. Indeed, Lin’s arrest is part of a larger trend in the fight against crypto-facilitated crimes. Last week, the Department of Justice arrested two brothers who allegedly conducted a $25 million theft on the Ethereum blockchain. 6 days later, on 6th March, vendors were locked out of crucial market features and missing all withdraws. On 9th March, Incognito Market started to extort vendors and buyers, asking for payments in a range between $100 – $20.000 in accordance to the level of vendor market’s.
Whether it was indeed a farce or a genuine fraudulent event, the damage was extensive. Lin also used funds from Incognito Market’s admin wallet to purchase at least four internet domains on Namecheap. One of the transactions cost approximately $20,000, paid for using the platform’s finances. The name registered to the Namecheap account was Rui-Siang Lin, again directly connecting him to the dark web marketplace.
Full Anonymity Of The Incognito Onion User
Incognito is an inviting destination for those seeking a thrilling and dynamic journey into the depths of the digital underworld. Incognito Market has emerged as a significant player in the darknet marketplace, acclaimed for its clean and minimalist design that focuses on a smooth user experience. It stands out for its strong ethical standards, particularly in its firm stance against certain illegal content, setting a model for responsible operation in this domain. Despite its growing vendor base, Incognito offers a wide array of unique and extraordinary items, going beyond what typical markets offer.
Security & Encryption

The marketplace was raking in millions of dollars in cryptocurrency, with Lin taking a 5% cut from every transaction. His technical expertise, combined with his shrewd business acumen, allowed him to build a fortune in the shadows of the dark web. But as Incognito’s user base expanded, so too did the scrutiny from law enforcement agencies around the world.
This meant that even if one server was compromised, the rest of the network would remain intact, allowing the market to continue operating without interruption. Born in Taiwan, Lin was a bright student, excelling in computer science and cybersecurity. By the time he graduated from National Taiwan University in June 2023, he had already built a reputation as a blockchain enthusiast and a skilled developer. In perhaps the most extraordinary twist in the case, Lin, who is only 23 years-old, worked for the Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “The defendant’s greed and disregard for others was further demonstrated by his alleged extortion attempt during the platform’s final days,” lamented Ivan J Arvelo of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York.
Vendors paid five percent of the purchase price of every sale to “Incognito Market,” providing Lin with millions of dollars of profits, the Justice Department said. Incognito Market included “many features of legitimate e-commerce sites such as branding, advertising, and customer service,” the Justice Department said. Hundreds of pounds of cocaine, methamphetamines and other drugs were sold on Incognito Market since its launch in October 2020, it said. After witnessing the extortion made by Incognito, Ninja & Trojan decided to DDOS mirrors with over 2,000 cores per mirror.
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Users of Incognito have been alerted by the operators claiming to have access to transaction logs and archived conversations involving crypto assets. The operators are demanding payment and have warned that failure to comply will result in the information being disclosed to law enforcement authorities. The dangers of Lin’s operation were highlighted during undercover investigations, where drugs sold as safe medications turned out to be deadly.
- The bold mass extortion attempt comes just days after Incognito Market administrators reportedly pulled an “exit scam” that left users unable to withdraw millions of dollars worth of funds from the platform.
- Incognito Market had its own “bank,” which allowed its users to deposit cryptocurrency on the site into their accounts.
- Taiwan does not have a formal extradition treaty with the U.S., so luring or waiting for Lin to enter U.S. soil was the surest way to get custody of him.
- And if that weren’t enough, the platform’s finals days were allegedly spent extorting its users between $100 and $20,000, under threat of revealing they had participated in the purchase and sale of illegal drugs.
- Since its inception in 1992, the Task Force has been responsible for the seizure of approximately $600 million and more than 2100 arrests.
Year-old Alleged Founder Of Dark Web Incognito Market Arrested After FBI Tracks Cryptocurrency Payments
Had this been a one-off event, you might just call it a coincidence, but he repeated this cash-out severally to draw suspicion. In one instance, he even publicly posted on a forum about how he sent BTC to the swapping service but never received the XMR equivalent. This revelation helped the Feds identify the exact transaction and his wallet details.

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Investigators could use that to build probable cause that Lin and Pharaoh were one and the same. With mounting evidence, prosecutors in the Southern District of New York quietly filed charges and obtained an indictment against Lin under seal. “This arrest underscores the dedicated, ongoing efforts of law enforcement to identify and dismantle illicit drug networks operating from every shadowy recess of the marketplace,” NYPD Commissioner Edward A. Caban said in a statement. If found guilty, Lin could face a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison for participating in a continuing criminal enterprise.
- In exchange for listing and selling narcotics as a vendor on Incognito Market, each vendor paid 5% of the purchase price of every narcotic sold to Incognito Market.
- The extortion note implies that the users’ information included in this dump depends entirely on their actions.
- In perhaps the most extraordinary twist in the case, Lin, who is only 23 years-old, worked for the Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- In this case, ‘FatherBear’ will keep a low profile for a while with all the money and then probably resurface with a different identity.
- Prosecutors said the online marketplace allowed users to anonymously buy and sell illegal drugs from anywhere on the globe with an internet connection and a Tor web browser, a tool that makes it difficult to track users.
At that time, the project administration threatened to publish a complete dump of 557,000 orders and 862,000 hashes of cryptocurrency transactions by the end of May. They understood that the administrators had already committed an exit scam, as they could not withdraw their money. To facilitate the millions of dollars in transactions, Incognito Market had its own “bank,” allowing users to deposit cryptocurrency into “bank accounts” that would transfer the agreed-upon amount to a seller’s “bank account” minus Lin’s 5% fee. According to court documents and statements made in court, Srinivasan and Ta used the “redlightlabs” darknet account to advertise and sell counterfeit M30 oxycodone pills containing fentanyl and other illicit drugs. Srinivasan also used the encrypted messaging application Wickr to communicate with and sell drugs to customers. Srinivasan received virtual currency as payment for the drugs and then routed that virtual currency through cryptocurrency exchanges.
In addition to standard items like drugs and fraud-related materials, the market offers a wealth of unique and captivating products, all described in an engaging manner. It supports Bitcoin (BTC) and Monero (XMR) for transactions, highlighting its commitment to privacy and security, and adopts a direct payment method for each transaction, catering to users who prioritize privacy. “Crypto tracing leverages the power of immutable ledgers that’s innate to blockchain databases and combines it with traditional methods of following money through forensic accounting and pattern matching.

Incognito Market: Trust Among Criminals?
In February 2024, many vendors found they could no longer withdraw their Bitcoin (BTC) earnings from the site, and by early March both BTC and Monero (XMR) withdrawals had ground to a halt. He posted a message on the dark web forum Dread (a Reddit-like hub for darknet discussions), claiming the withdrawal problems were due to technical upgrades and urging patience. Prominent voices in the darknet community, including Dread’s own administrator “Hugbunter,” grew suspicious.