Last year, our site exposed the deceptive dark web market "DeepMarket", but people continue to fall victim to scams. Recently, "ODN" discovered another individual scammed by DeepMarket. A Reddit user named r00bbert shared his story of being duped out of $170 on the "DeepMarket" dark web scam market.
In the opening of his post, r00bbert acknowledged that many would blame him for not conducting research beforehand, not recognizing signs of previous scams, and making direct payments upfront. He explained that he felt cornered at the time and hoped to do something through the market. Clearly, he made a mistake.
R00bbert stated that he referred to "DeepMarket", only to discover post-scam that the website has been operating since 2015. He found no warnings online about DeepMarket being a scam, prompting him to share his story, hoping that others might see it before falling victim (indicating the author's good intentions). He mentioned that although DeepMarket didn't employ extraordinary scams, it was enough to gain his trust.
As introduced in a previous article by "ODN", the dark web scam market called "DeepMarket" is intricately designed and fully functional, making it challenging to identify as a fraudulent site.
Since Reddit community rules prohibit posting URLs, r00bbert mentioned in the post that this dark web scam site has two different onion domain addresses, both starting with "deepmarli" and ending with different combinations of letters and numbers. Interestingly, the website's homepage displays a large image certifying the "verified" status of both addresses. Opening the scam site, he noticed a Christmas hat added to its logo in anticipation of the holiday season.
In a previous article, "ODN" only exposed one of the "DeepMarket" dark web onion domains:
http://deepmarli2lyewdfmx62ym2suhg32elt7rpnra2bgdg26qms7hqyecyd.onion
According to r00bbert's complaint, the scam site "DeepMarket" has another onion domain:
http://deepmar4ai3iff7akeuos3u3727lvuutm4l5takh3dmo3pziznl5ywqd.onion
R00bbert outlined several signs that indicate a scam once you visit this market. He specifically discussed a particular "vendor" named "Amazon Paradise", a gift card seller on the DeepMarket site offering cards significantly below their actual value. The first suspicious sign he pointed out was the reviews, with several five-star reviews posted every day, all written in poor English. The second dubious sign was the unchanging number of "orders."
Continuing, r00bbert explained that once a purchase is made, there is a one-hour time limit to send BTC to the Bitcoin address specified by the DeepMarket site. The site promises that after BTC transfer appears on the blockchain, the payment is considered completed, and the page will refresh. Then, after three confirmations, the seller will start processing the order. Surprisingly, r00bbert mentioned that the screen refreshed at some point, and the transaction proceeded smoothly. However, the order status changed to "awaiting shipment", and hours later, nothing happened. According to the website, the user should receive an email sent to the specified address. Of course, r00bbert claimed he did not receive that email. After discussions with the site's "vendor" and "support team" named "Jesse", r00bbert was quite certain they might be the same person. "Jesse" assured r00bbert that the vendor faced difficulties but would deliver within 24 hours (the vendor claimed 12 hours). Additionally, an offer of a coupon to resolve the issue was provided, but there was no further response. Consequently, r00bbert left a comment for the vendor advising potential victims to understand the nature of the "DeepMarket" site. Subsequently, three new five-star reviews appeared, and his comment disappeared.
In conclusion, r00bbert revealed a loss of $170. However, he believed every penny was worthwhile as long as it prevented others from making the same mistake.
Once again, a reminder to be cautious of unauthorized dark web trading markets, as obscure ones are typically scam sites. "ODN" hopes more people can see r00bbert's post on Reddit or find our article through Google for awareness.
For more updates on the dark web, stay tuned to "ODN".