RaidForums
| File:RaidForums Website Logo.png | |
| RaidForums.com domain seizure notice in June 2022 Domain seizure notice on RaidForums.com | |
Type of site | Internet forum |
|---|---|
| Available in | English |
| Dissolved | April 12, 2022 |
| Successor | BreachForums |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Founder(s) | Diogo Santos Coelho, also known by his screen name "Omnipotent" |
| Advertising | Yes |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Registration | Optional |
| Users | 530,000 at time of shutdown |
| Launched | 2015 |
| Current status | Seized by the FBI |
RaidForums was an English-language black hat hacking internet forum founded in 2015. The website facilitated the discussion of a variety of hacking topics and was a notable distributor of various data breaches, hacking tools, and pornography until its closure and seizure by law enforcement authorities in 2022.[1] The website was monetized via advertisements and through a tiered membership program where members with higher tiers would receive elevated access to the forum and its contents.[2][3]
History
[edit | edit source]RaidForums began in 2015 as a platform for Twitch raiders.[4]
Domain seizure
[edit | edit source]The domain and its contents were seized by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on April 12, 2022, after a month of downtime, in collaboration with the United States Secret Service, the United States Department of Justice, and a variety of other national and international law enforcement agencies.[1]
Administration
[edit | edit source]The website was allegedly founded in 2015 by a then 14-year-old Portuguese national, Diogo Santos Coelho, under the screen name "Omnipotent", who was arrested on January 31, 2022, in the United Kingdom.[5] His arrest occurred pending several years of investigation after several of his devices were searched under warrant at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in June 2018, suggesting he was the owner and primary administrator "Omnipotent". According to hackread.com, an administrator under the screen name "Jaw" & "souls" announced the seizure officially on the forum's public Telegram channel, and redirected subscribers of the channel to RaidForums' backup domain rf.to [2]
Impact
[edit | edit source]At the time of its closure in 2022, the forum had over 530,000 registered users and was one of the most prolific and easily accessible clearnet illicit hacking forums.[2]
See also
[edit | edit source]References
[edit | edit source]- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b c Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
External links
[edit | edit source]- Lua error in Module:Official_website at line 94: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- U.S. Department of Justice indictment
