Cybercriminals selling drugs and stolen credit cards have adopted an unlikely new branding trend on the so-called dark web.
A host of black-market dealers are using the brand, name and likeness of the 45th president to upsell their shipments of ecstasy, cocaine, and ketamine.
“Let’s make the darknet great again,” pledges one of these illicit online businesses that literally calls itself “Donald Trump.”
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Several of the vendor’s listings refer to their store as “Trump Towers,” where they sell “presidential” quality shipments of illicit substances.
“Donald Trump” sells its wares on Dream, an established dark web marketplace. After the FBI closed the largest market called AlphaBay last month, and European cops shuttered a second popular online bazaar, Dream is now likely the busiest underground drug site. Some vendors on Dream also offer your usual array of counterfeit currency and fake identity documents.
According to the ‘Donald Trump’ listings, the dealer posts drugs from Belgium, but they do not ship to the U.S. Photos of the large blocks of cocaine include a Donald Trump bobble-head.
‘Donald Trump’ appears to have plenty of satisfied customers. Whenever someone buys an item on the dark web, the market typically prompts them to leave a rating and short review. That way, potential customers can get a better idea of who sells the real product, and who may be a scammer.
“Very good stealth, and the coke seems to be good,” one reviewer writes on a cocaine listing, with ‘stealth’ referring to how vendors package their drugs to slip through customs.
“DONALD YOU’RE THE BEST!!!,” adds another.
There is no suggestion that the real Trump—a master of selling branding rights to this name all over the world—has endorsed these products in any way. The ‘Donald Trump’ business did not respond to a request for comment.
In a sign of just how pervasive this Trump branding is, some other drug dealers also sell ecstasy pills in the shape of Donald Trump’s head. Last week German police seized a large shipment of the pills.
But cybercriminals haven’t just plastered Trump’s face across the digital underground to sell drugs. Back in May, security journalist Brian Krebs reported on “Trump’s Dumps,” a site selling stolen credit card data.
The Daily Beast confirmed that the site is still up and running, complete with a giant, menacing portrait of Trump.
When you log into the ‘Trump’s Dumps’ site a message written in the style of President Trump appears on screen:
“Together, we will determine the course of carding and the blackhat community for many, many, years to come,” it reads. “We will face challenges. We will confront hardships. But we will get the job done.”
