OTTAWA-GATINEAU — The CRTC’s chief compliance and enforcement officer, Steven Harroun, announced today penalties totalling $300,000 against four Canadians for their involvement in the Dark Web marketplace Canadian HeadQuarters, also known as CanadianHQ.
Following the execution of warrants by CRTC staff in the greater Montreal area during 2020 and 2021, the marketplace was taken offline.
“Before shutting down, CanadianHQ was one of the largest Dark Web marketplaces in the world and significantly contributed to harmful cyber activity in Canada. It specialized in the sale of goods and services, including spamming services, phishing kits, stolen credentials and access to compromised computers, which were used by purchasers to engage in a variety of malicious activities,” reads a CRTC press release.
The four individuals who were the focus of the CRTC’s investigation “allegedly sent emails mimicking well-known brands in order to obtain personal data including credit card numbers, banking credentials and other sensitive information,” the release explains.
The four Canadians were issued fines for sending commercial emails without consent, in violation of Canada’s anti-spam legislation (CASL).
The creator and administrator of CanadianHQ, Chris Tyrone Dracos (also known as Poseidon), has been issued a penalty of $150,000. The other three individuals — Marc Anthony Younes (aka CASHOUT00 and Masteratm), Souial Amarak (aka Wealtyman and Supreme) and Moustapha Sabir (aka La3sa) — have each been issued a penalty of $50,000.
A number of other vendors were identified during the CRTC’s investigation and enforcement actions will be taken against them in the near future, the CRTC’s press release says.
“Some Canadians are being drawn into malicious cyber activity, lured by the potential for easy money and social recognition among their peers. This case shows that anonymity is not absolute online and there are real-world consequences when engaging in these activities,” said Harroun, in the press release.
“Canadian HeadQuarters was one of the most complex cases our team has tackled since CASL came into force. I would like to thank the cyber-security firm Flare Systems, the Sûreté du Québec and the RCMP’s National Division for their invaluable assistance. Our team is committed to investigating CASL non-compliance on all fronts.”
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