Glowing reviews tout counterfeit cash on the dark web
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
When Secret Service Agent Matthew Britsch began trawling for major counterfeiters in the shadowy marketplaces of the dark web, he acted like any smart consumer on eBay — he studied the reviews.
Britsch knew he had struck gold when he found Billmaker, the online moniker of an anonymous counterfeiter who promised a high-quality $100 bill and a money-back guarantee. He even had a loyal fan base who praised his work and customer service with scores of positive reviews.
"Very good quality and got here quick,” one gushed.
"All passed with no issue whatsoever,” another wrote, approvingly. "FRESH CLEAN BILLS!" agreed a third.
“Billmaker was a five-star guy,” said Britsch. “He wanted those five-star reviews to help him sell more bills. That was clearly his goal.”
The agent clicked “buy” and in September 2017 purchased four fake $100 bills for $120 in bitcoin , the online cryptocurrency. The counterfeits arrived on time and were as good as promised.
An analysis by Secret Service experts linked the fraudulent bills to thousands of others that had been passed with a total face value of $4.1 million. That made Billmaker the nation’s most prolific domestic counterfeiter.
https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-pol-dark-web-counterfeiter-20190201-story.html
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Some people are so talented, but cannot seem to find there way forward in a moral way.
Sad story.
Interesting "ending".
Don't know why this didn't hit the FP or show up on Columnists?
Oh well.
It should hit the front page. It would not be on the Columnist section since that is only for stuff that members have actually written, so we reward them with special placement. Let's see if my comment gets it to jump.
Thumbs up.
Just disappointing that non partisan news is roundly and soundly ignored.
Great job by the Feds.
Why in the hell would you buy a fake 100$ bill for $120.
Seems like one would be losing money, passed on or not.
I think the going rate was 4 counterfeit 100's for $120. 30.00 apiece.
Ah, thanks. Guess I read that wrong.
I'd like to know where he got the paper those bills are printed on because Crane is the only supplier and access to that paper is very tightly controlled. Intaglio printing is not hard to do, but it is laborious.