Torzon Market showed up on the dark web in September 2022, and it’s been growing steadily ever since. These days, it lists over 11,600 illegal items, including hard drugs, hacking tools, and all kinds of cybercrime services. It has a search option to let you find local and international products and services on the dark web.
The Top Darknet Markets – Quick List
But drug campaigners say dark web markets have some measures to protect consumers – particularly the ability to leave reviews. Exploring the Dark Web can be an intriguing and mysterious experience, but it is important to approach it with caution and a strong understanding of the risks involved. While the Dark Web offers anonymity and privacy, it is also a breeding ground for illegal activities and cybercrime. We observed the same listings posted in different marketplaces and illustrate the dependency of the same opioid listings among different marketplaces. Note that we determined if 2 listings are identical by matching the same elements (ie, listing’s title and description information and the vendor’s name) in 2 listings.
Online Resources
- Later in 2022, the US Naval Research Laboratory built on Freenet’s idea to create a secure and encrypted network for sensitive communications, which was later released to the public as open-source software.
- If they are investigating a dealer and happen to identify a buyer of said dealer, there’s a chance they could hassle that buyer.
- The results provide insight into opioid trading in the anonymous markets and forums and may prove an effective mitigation data point for illuminating the opioid supply chain.
- We’re talking about even early access to unreleased music, leaked TV episodes, concert footage, and even popular video games before they officially drop.
- Since the launch of the Silk Road five years ago, dark-web markets have represented a shadowy and much-maligned corner of the internet.
Investigators uncovered 19 overdose deaths they believe are connected to fentanyl purchased online. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said darknet vendors are “pouring fuel on the fire of the national drug epidemic” and this year doubled the number of federal agents working on those cases. It’s part of the Trump administration’s tough approach to the drug crisis that has focused on harsh punishments for dealers.
Market Value And Popularity
Abacus Market quickly rose to prominence by attracting former AlphaBay users and providing a comprehensive platform for a wide range of illicit activities. The earliest modern online anonymous markets, often referred to as darknet markets or cryptomarkets, appeared in early 2010, and evolved from an encrypted email service and migrated on to a Tor (The Onion Router) anonymity network to guarantee better anonymity to users. The first darknet market of notoriety was Silk Road, which opened at the end of January 2011 and was seized by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in October 2013 (DEA, 2013).
Explicit And Illegal Content
Portman and a bipartisan group of senators have actually introduced legislation to require the Postal Service to collect this electronic data. There are hurdles, including international treaties and the readiness or willingness of other countries to implement the same standards. But absent the passage of a bill — this plan has been introduced in previous Congresses too — lawmakers are pushing the Trump administration, particularly the State Department, to do more to bolster international shipping standards. The underlying message of the report was that the US Postal Service should do more to crack down on these illicit shipments. Right now, private carriers are required to collect advanced electronic data, a bar code with information about the sender, the recipient, and what is in the package. That’s precisely why sellers prefer the US Postal Service over FedEx or UPS.
Dark Web, Not Dark Alley: Why Drug Sellers See The Internet As A Lucrative Safe Haven
Common tricks include creating fake accounts from which to post positive feedback; writing bad reviews of competitors; and even paying others to give favourable write-ups. You can use dark web monitoring tools, such as NordVPN’s Dark Web Monitor, to check if your data has been leaked. These tools scan dark web forums and marketplaces for any signs of your compromised credentials. There is no need to visit darknet marketplaces yourself to know whether your data was leaked. Just like on the regular internet, phishing is a big problem on the dark web as well. Fraudsters create fake versions of popular darknet sites to trick users into entering login details or personal data.
To access the Tor network, you will need to download and install the Tor browser. Once you have installed the Tor browser, you can access the darknet by typing in the onion address of the marketplace you want to visit. “White House Market was unusual in that it was pretty much a walletless market, although it did not advertise itself as such,” says Ormsby.
Opioids Have Become A Major Problem In The US, Even If Congress Hasn’t Given It That Much Attention
In this latter case, feedbacks that are present in the data that occurred before the previous data collection of any one specific listing are excluded from the total feedback so that these are not double counted and artificially inflate the sales of any product. The linear regression results therefore represent the estimated percentage of sales within any one country attributable to any one drug classification (the constant) followed by an estimation of the yearly percentage point change over the study period. All regressions were run with robust standard errors using the Huber-White sandwich method to account for a lack of normality in the dependents, heteroscedasticity, and data points with high leverage owing to the nature of the data collection process. Sedatives (such as diazepam and alprazolam) and CNS stimulants (mainly Adderall, modafinil and methylphenidate) had the greatest share of sales, but usage and trends varied by location.
More Than 1/3 Of Illicit Drugs Sold On The Dark Web Contain Unexpected Substances, According To New Study
The biggest takedowns in terms of volume – Silk Road, AlphaBay and Wall Street – have been police-led, but in 2018, the EMCDDA published a study which found that, of the more than 100 markets, just 10 percent closed as a consequence of overt police action. Police also took out a vital part of the dark web’s infrastructure, the information and review site Deepdotweb.com, arresting two suspected administrators in May in France and Israel, and seizing €7.5 million (£6.7 million) in bitcoins. Similarly, some cryptomarket drugs—MDMA powder and cocaine—were far less likely to contain adulterants. But others—amphetamine and LSD—were found to be more likely to be adulterated than samples acquired in-person.
However, in June 2025, BidenCash’s relevant domains (around 145) were seized by the US Department of Justice. Now that you understand what the dark web is all about, you might wonder why other people do things on it. Darknet marketplaces like to exist on the dark web because it offers a service that the regular internet, or more accurately, the “surface web,” does not. Asking the “right way,” according to Barratt, should yield enough information about the source of the substance to understand what type of risk it poses to the community if it turns out to be adulterated.
Even with the increase in law enforcement pressure, the dark web market still achieved a revenue of $2 billion in 2024. Therefore, as long as this dark part of the internet exists, these marketplaces will flourish and emerge. Our study used opioid keywords and jargons to recognize listings and forum traces related to underground opioid trading activities.
Shuttered Dark Web Marketplaces
These sites often look basic or outdated, and their URLs are lengthy strings of random letters and numbers. Keep in mind that visiting the dark web isn’t illegal, but engaging in criminal activity there is. They’re tightening security and carefully screening anyone who wants to join. This vetting process helps keep the community “clean” from spies, law enforcement, or anyone who might pose a risk. But these efforts of law enforcement don’t go in vain; hackers and criminals lose trust if a website or marketplace goes down. Later, in 2013, Silk Road caught the attention of law enforcement and policymakers like US Senator Charles Schumer, who publicly called for a federal crackdown.
